Chapter 39: Soul-shattering

“Let’s go, get down to business.” Old man Jiang took me by the hand, and the two of us, old and young, walked into the graveyard in the middle of the night.

As soon as I entered the graveyard, I felt a chill running through my heart. Old man Jiang shouted, “What about the mantra I taught you? Recite it in your heart. If you don’t think it’s working, you can say it out loud.”

I heard this and quickly began to recite it in my heart. To be honest, I didn’t want to see those things again. Not to mention, the mantra that the old man taught me really worked. After reciting it in my heart a few times, I found that I wasn’t cold at all.

After walking for a short while, we reached Li Fengxian’s grave. Old Jiang looked around and took out a roll of thread from his bag.

“This is ink thread, it’s good for sealing coffins and graves,” Jiang Laotou explained to me, and while explaining, he enclosed the grave in a certain way, but left a gap.

“Master, why are you sealing Li Fengxian’s grave?” I was a little confused.

“This is not to seal Li Fengxian, but to keep other ghosts from entering and taking the soul of the substitute.” Old man Jiang briefly explained.

After the grave was sealed, the old man lit three joss sticks at the grave of Li Fengxian, burned a stack of paper money, then took the substitute doll, muttered a few words, and then burned the substitute doll.

Soon the doll was engulfed in flames, and the old man stood up, staring at the fire, not knowing what to think.

“Master, what were you chanting just now?” I asked curiously.

“A prayer, a prayer to resolve grudges and give blessings to the soul,” explained the old man.

After a while, the fire went out, and the doll burned to ashes with the fire, and the surrounding area became quiet.

I was about to ask Jiang Laoren if this method worked, but I heard a faint sound of crying. The sound was so familiar, just like the sound of my second sister when she was possessed.

In the distance, I saw a woman wearing a green costume, clinging to the arms of a woman wearing a pink costume, her eyes filled with tears.

“Are you willing to reveal your true form and thank me, even if you are afraid that your soul will be scattered? Or will you be gone after you have vented your grievances?” Old Master Jiang’s eyebrows were knitted together, and there was a hint of sadness in his voice.

What is “appearing in human form to express gratitude”? I don’t understand. I thought my “divine eye” had opened again, but it wasn’t! But when I heard the old man’s tone of voice, which was a bit sad, and heard the words “soul scattered and spirit dispersed,” my heart also lifted.

In the blur, the woman didn’t say much, but she just bowed to me and my master Yingying, who was wearing a pink costume, and then she said, “Even if it’s just a momentary reunion, it’s not worth a thousand years of waiting. Fortunately, I didn’t wait too long. Fortunately, I didn’t see any more blood in my eyes. No matter how much evil I do, thank you, thank you…”

The woman’s voice was extremely gentle. Where was the look of resentment and madness that had possessed my second sister? At this time, when I looked at her carefully, her eyebrows were like painted willows, her eyes were full of water, and she was extremely beautiful. She was worthy of being a famous actress in her heyday.

“I will lead the way for you.” At this moment, my master shouted.

In the meantime, my master compared a relatively simple hand gesture and began to chant at the same time. But at this moment, I noticed that Li Fengxian’s figure had become increasingly faint, but she was smiling at Yu Xiaohong beside her, so satisfied.

“Master, Li Fengxian is fading,” I suddenly felt a little sad and couldn’t help but loudly remind the old man Jiang.

The old man, who was chanting incantations, suddenly sighed, stopped all his movements, and just looked at everything quietly. He said in a somewhat wandering voice, “Even if you reincarnate for many lifetimes, it is in vain to live a life of confusion and emptiness. Perhaps some people really only want a moment of splendor, even if they are scattered to the four winds. The Buddha said, “It is possible to break through the mundane world,” and the Taoist said, “The Dao is ruthless,” but what is this thing called emotion? Compared to bliss, compared to the Dao, it is even more addictive. Is it that the world is not clear-headed, or… sigh…”

I only understood a little of what I heard because at the age of 7, I was still a little confused about my feelings for my loved ones, let alone the love of life.

Li Fengxian disappeared, and I stared blankly at the empty tomb of Li Fengxian in front of me, as if everything that had just happened was an illusion. Did Li Fengxian really appear?

“Master, where did she go?” I asked, turning my head. I felt uneasy until I found an answer.

“She…” Old Master Jiang reached out and patted my head, and after a long pause, he said, “I wanted to tell you that she was reborn, but I don’t want to lie to you. She has completely disappeared. From now on, there will be no more Li Fengxian in this world, not even a soul. She has completely disappeared.”

Old man Jiang didn’t lie to me after all. Maybe it was because I was destined to encounter many cruel things in the future, so I couldn’t be like other children. At first, adults were always keen to plant seeds of fairy tales in their hearts.

“She’s gone?” I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know why, but I just wanted to cry. She was clearly the ghost that harmed my second sister!

“Yes, she is gone. I made a doll to fulfill her wish and relieve her resentment, but once the resentment is gone, her soul will also be scattered. Because the net of heaven is wide and thorough, her resentment has harmed others, and it cannot be offset because she is pitiful. I originally wanted to use the guiding finger to guide her to the path of reincarnation in the underworld, but the laws of heaven are not something that I can change, and I was too stubborn.” Jiang Laoren’s tone was calm, but his persistence was truly a compassionate heart for Li Fengxian.

I don’t know why, but I felt a pang of sadness, and couldn’t help wiping my eyes with my sleeve. I suddenly thought of something and asked, “Master, a stand-in doll is not the real Yu Xiaohong, so why did Li Fengxian…”

“This doll has a special hand gesture in addition to the body tattoo, which is matched with Yu Xiaohong’s birth date and time. In fact, it is just a temporary deception, and that is enough, because it can resolve the resentment. Once the resentment is resolved, it is just an ordinary ghost. With the help of the guiding technique, it is sent to the cycle of reincarnation, and the matter is resolved. This is a way of Taoist salvation.” Old Master Jiang patiently explained to me.

This time I didn’t ask anything, and I was also very sensible not to ask my master why he deceived Li Fengxian. In fact, he did it out of compassion for the world. It would be best if Li Fengxian could enter the cycle of reincarnation. If not, it would be good to dispel her resentment and not let her continue to suffer as a ghost, and leave with satisfaction.

The two of us looked at Li Fengxian’s grave for a while, as if we could still see that era, and how that person, Li Fengxian, who was more beautiful than a peach blossom, was charming on the stage…

“Forget it, let’s go back and help your sister summon the soul. This graveyard business has to be settled.” After saying that, Old Master Jiang took my hand and walked away. As he walked away, he glanced at this graveyard and snorted inexplicably.

On the way back, I couldn’t help but say, “Master, there’s another male ghost who bullied me. Aren’t you going to help me get revenge?”

“All of them in that graveyard have been reincarnated. The end of a ghost is not good there. He probably won’t escape the end of being scattered to the four winds. Of course, it depends on the size of his evil deeds.”

“If they all get saved, that would be a lot of hard work. Master, why are the two evil spirits I met so young?”

“Hey, hard work? Not really. As long as the evil place is broken, it’s all good. As for why they are all young, it’s not absolute. It’s just that people who die young have a lot more resentment than older people. You think, parents’ kindness has not been repaid, children have not grown up, husband and wife’s love has not ended, or the ideal in the heart has not been able to unfold, you say that the resentment can not be big? Therefore, most of the ghosts are people who died young, but because they have too many concerns, their resentment is deep.

“Master, what exactly is a ghost? Why do I always feel confused when I see them? It’s like my mind isn’t clear. It just doesn’t feel real. I’m not sure.”

“Well, I’ll tell you when you’re older. All you need to know is that you don’t actually see them, but rather feel them. This is not something that is completely intangible. If you think about it, there are traces to be found. Of course, you must go to school and learn more to confirm all these truths.”

“Master, you don’t seem like a cultured person. Are you trying to trick me into going to school?” I thought that by following my master, I could escape from the hated school. Although I was reluctant to leave the crispy meat and some of my friends, I didn’t expect my master to encourage me to go to school. I felt the need to remind him that he didn’t seem like a cultured person either.

“Hey, hey,” the old man Jiang looked at me with a friendly smile, but the next second his face turned angry, he grabbed me, slapped me on the butt, and yelled, “I’ll beat you to death, you stupid kid!”

I was taken home by the old man, and as soon as I got home, I fell on the bed and ignored the old man. It was such a long night, and my parents were still waiting. My eldest sister couldn’t stand it anymore and fell asleep next to my second sister.

My second sister was locked in a “soul-binding knot” and was so quiet, as if she was asleep. In fact, the real situation was that she had not opened her eyes for three consecutive days. My mother cooked liquid food and fed her like a baby.

Seeing that I ignored him, the old man didn’t bother to talk to me either. He said directly to my father, “The evil spirit that has been haunting you has been dealt with. Tonight, we will call the soul of your second sister back. You move a table and follow me. Xiu Yun will also follow me. You will personally bring the soul of your second sister home.”

My mother hurriedly nodded and agreed. Not to mention bringing the soul home, as long as she could save my second sister, she would dare to bring home even a demon.

I quietly got up. To be honest, after this day, I found that I really liked to hang out with Old Man Jiang. He opened a door to the world for me, which was so magical and attractive to me.

So the four of us set off. I followed behind without saying a word. Old Jiang smiled at me and said, “Sanwa, why are you following me?”

“Hmph,” I pouted and ignored him.

The old man didn’t care, and happily walked ahead, winding around and around, not knowing where he was taking us.