Chapter 40: Calling the soul (1)

After walking for about 20 minutes, he finally stopped. He looked around and nodded, saying, “This is the convergence point of the qi flow in this area. It couldn’t be better here.”

I cursed in my heart, isn’t it just the highest little hill in the village? It’s just a high place to stand and look far away, what a gathering point for the flow of qi!

Old man Jiang didn’t know what I was thinking, but he just told my dad to put the table in a certain position and start setting up the altar. If he knew what I was thinking, I guess my butt would suffer again.

After the altar was set up, the old man said solemnly, “I’m going to do a spirit eye opening. This is different from the spirit eye opening that ordinary people do to see ghosts. This spirit eye opening is to see through everything in the village in order to find the soul of my second sister. There is a taboo about this spirit eye opening. No matter if it is a person or an animal, they cannot be seen. You should retreat below the hill and make sure that no animals, especially cats and dogs, can run into it.

Fortunately, the earthen embankment was shaped like a pyramid, so the three of us could stand at the halfway point and not see what the old man was doing. And the three of us could also completely guard the area to prevent livestock from charging in.

In fact, at this time of night, which family’s livestock would run here? Besides, after those three years, there are far fewer wild animals, so this is just a precaution.

Old Jiang solemnly took out his Taoist robe from his bag and put it on. This time he took out two peach wood swords. In my impression, Old Jiang liked to use hand gestures more than magic weapons. It seems that this time was different.

Then, the old man took out a token and something else I didn’t recognize. Later I learned that it was called a hu, which was what the ministers in the Song Dynasty held in their hands.

This is quite a show.

“I’m going to start stepping on the gong. You should leave quickly,” the old man shouted.

Upon hearing this, the three of us hurriedly descended from the three agreed-upon places and nervously guarded the old man as he performed the ritual.

We couldn’t see what was happening on the top of the hill, but after a while, we heard Jiang Laoren’s clear voice: “The Supreme Law has been bestowed upon me, and I will do as I please…”

This was the first time I had heard and clearly heard the old man’s incantation, but I didn’t know what it meant.

It was only about 20 minutes, but for my family, those 20 minutes felt like 20 hours. We were afraid that something would jump up and interfere with the old man’s practice.

Fortunately, the torture was over soon. We clearly heard Jiang Laoren shout, “Open!”

Then there was silence. I don’t know what my parents felt, but at that moment I saw the sky over the whole village suddenly change color. Several colors slowly gathered here and then dispersed.

But it was only a moment, and the next moment the whole village returned to its original state.

I was calm. I was really calm. I was almost used to my inexplicable ability. I had seen ghosts, so why should I be afraid of these colorful gases?

It was quiet for a few minutes before we heard the old man’s voice: “You can come up now!”

The three of us breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ran towards the top of the mountain, eager to find out where my second sister’s soul had gone.

“Two spirits are in the same place, and the other one is in a different place. That saves some trouble.” As soon as he saw us, the old man said where my sister’s soul was.

“Where is it?” my mother was very anxious.

“I’ll take you there. Don’t worry. To avoid a collision, Old Chen, you go back first. Xiu Yun and San Wa will follow me,” said Old Jiang.

My father hurriedly agreed, for he dared not bear the consequences of his daughter losing her soul.

After tidying up the altar, my father moved the table back, leaving the three of us. At this time, Old Jiang took out a flat lantern from his bag, which looked like a treasure bag, and flicked the bamboo frame inside. The lantern bulged up, and he handed it to my mother.

Then he took out a white candle from the bag and put it in, before saying, “When we get there, Sanwa and I will stay away from you to protect you. After all, the soul is easily frightened. You must keep the lantern lit and keep calling out your sister’s name. You must not stop, and you must walk slowly. The lantern must never go out, or the soul might disperse in panic. Remember this.”

After saying that, the old man took out a red-string bracelet from his bag and put it on my mother’s hand. He tightened the knot on top and said, “This is to lock up part of your yang energy. Ermei’s soul has been wandering outside for several days. Maybe the yang energy of a woman can also disperse it. After you put on this knot, remember that no matter what the situation, you must not move your emotions recklessly. This way, the yang energy will fluctuate, and it will be bad if the knot is broken. You know, I dare not lock up your excess yang energy, it’s not good for your body.”

It turns out that there are so many taboos about calling the soul. My mother was nervous and said to the old man Jiang, “Master Jiang, just lock the Yang knot for me. Please, I’m not afraid. As long as I can safely bring back my sister’s soul.”

“No! Absolutely not.” The old man almost didn’t think about it, and he rejected my mother in one go.

My mother knew that when the old man was serious, he was almost inflexible, so she had no choice but to agree.

“Behind that tree is one of Ermei’s spirits. It is slightly stronger than the soul, so let’s call the spirit back first.” At this time, the old man had already brought my mother and me to the first place where Ermei lost her soul, and explained the location in detail.

My mother nodded nervously, and the old man lit the candle in the lantern without saying a word, then nodded to my mother, and then pulled me back almost ten meters.

My mother carefully held the lantern, afraid that the fire inside would go out, and then walked behind the tree.

“Chen Xiaojuan, Chen Xiaojuan…” My mother whispered my sister’s name, and I and Jiang Laoren watched closely.

“Sanwa, do you want to see?” Jiang Laoren asked me.

I nodded eagerly. My natural clairvoyance was sometimes effective and sometimes not. At this time, I really wanted to see my second sister.

“Well, it’s not too difficult to see a living soul. Listen to me. Now close your eyes, put your tongue against your palate, don’t think about anything, and feel the surroundings with your whole heart. Then recite this mantra…” Old man Jiang explained in detail.

In fact, the ability to see through the eyes of the gods is almost the most difficult to cultivate. The accumulation of power required is so high that it can only be achieved with the help of the mantra. This is a gift from heaven, and of course it is terrifying for ordinary people to have such an encounter.

This is the talent for cultivating the Dao. Of course, if my character is not pure, I will be rejected by the door of the Dao.

I did as the old man Jiang said, and sure enough, after a short while, I “saw” it, but it wasn’t as magical as the first time. I could only see a dark, blurry shadow of my mother, a blurry shadow of the old man Jiang, and a grayish mass following my mother.

When I looked more closely, the grayish mass was my second sister, but she had a very dull expression and her whole body was floating, giving me a sense of unreality.

At this time, I saw the old man nodding to my mother, probably saying that it was okay. My mother called out to my second sister and could take her away.

My mother understood, and carefully held the lantern, calling out my sister’s name, walking towards our home.

But at that moment, I saw several other grayish mists rapidly approaching my mother. I knew what they were, and I almost screamed out, but at that moment, a pair of large hands covered my mouth.

It was my master, of course, who covered my mouth. As soon as he did so, I could no longer make a sound, but at the same time I calmed down. I knew that my master had done it on purpose.

My mother continued to call out my sister’s name in a low voice, holding a lantern. After they had walked a short distance, I clearly saw four or five grayish-black shadows following my mother. When I looked more closely, I saw that they were four or five people, all with the same expression of numbness.

What was terrifying was that they were all lined up behind my mother, one by one, in neat vertical rows, like a train, and my mother was the locomotive.