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A dojo had long been set up in the room, with a large True Spirit Position Diagram hanging above the altar. On either side, two large red candles burned, casting a blood-red glow throughout the space. Beneath the altar were three large porcelain bowls. The man unwrapped the swaddling of the dead infant, revealing a piece of bright red cloth tightly bound with ropes.
"Wang Tuozi explained, 'This is the Red Cloth Wrapping the Soul. It is commonly known that when a person dies, they cannot be dressed in red clothing, as their soul will not be guided to the afterlife and will become a Vengeful Spirit. The Red Cloth Wrapping the Soul serves to confine the dead infant's Three Souls and Seven Spirits within its body, preventing it from being reborn.'
'Did you notice that rope? It's called the Soul Locking Circle, made from the... cough cough, lower parts of a young boy and girl, woven together as fine as a mouse's tail. It serves to lock the soul in place; this is Mao Shan Daoism.'
The man in the room pulled out a piece of willow wood and a piece of peach wood from his pocket, placing them on either side of the three porcelain bowls. He seemed to chant some incantation and performed three bows and nine prostrations before the True Spirit Position Diagram. Then he slapped the dead infant's back hard, causing it to spit out half a steamed bun that had been soaked in blood, its edges starting to darken with time.
'He is about to begin the ritual. That blood-soaked bun was likely placed in the child's throat right after death to help its yin body adapt to his essence—this is called "Collecting Spirits."'
Wang Tuozi glanced at Wei Ning and explained, 'Humans have both yin and yang bodies; the yang body is physical while the soul is yin.'
Suddenly, a ruler appeared in the man's hand. He slammed it down on the table and placed the dead infant on it. Then he quickly moved his hands, palms facing up, intertwining his ring fingers while pressing his left thumb against his left ring finger's nail, muttering incantations:
'Open the gates, open the earth gate; send forth souls from afar. I heed Supreme Lao Jun's urgent decree.'
'Binding spell, soul-collecting chant—hey, your technique isn't very refined. Is this your first time?' Wang Tuozi teased.
A red light flashed around the dead infant, followed by white and then clear light, constantly shifting. Wei Ning watched intently, hardly daring to breathe. The man held the infant upside down with one hand while lighting a red candle with the other. He placed it under the baby's chin, roasting it continuously. Drops of red tears fell onto the blood-soaked bun; each drop released a wisp of green smoke from it. Suddenly, the infant's eyes bulged wide open, turning crimson as if they might bleed at any moment, emitting a sound akin to a mouse squeaking.
'The child has begun Soul Refinement.'
'Soul Refinement?'
'This is a thorough transformation of the infant's soul. After futile struggles filled with pain and fear, it will ultimately submit and recognize its Soul Refiner as its master. This method subjects souls to an incredibly torturous process. However, once successful, it will never change until the Soul Refiner's soul dissipates.'
This process lasted for over an hour. Whenever the infant felt as if it were burning alive or about to burst from its own eyes, the man would cut his palm and smear his blood into its eyes, calming it momentarily.
'Soul Refinement is nearly complete; next comes splitting the spirit.'
The man took out two objects from his bosom, each contained in a transparent glass bottle, submerged in a yellowish liquid. "Do you see these? These two items are 'Yin Yin' and 'Yin Qi,' both soaked in corpse oil. The roles of 'Yin Yin' and 'Yin Qi' are essential in the process of Nurturing Ghosts. 'Yin Yin' must be a yang object related by blood to this infant—specifically, his brother's finger. 'Yin Qi' is the umbilical cord from when her mother gave birth to her, also known in our profession as 'Yin Dragon.' It serves as a connection between the realms of Yin and Yang. When a person is in the Mother's Body, they rely on their first breath; at this moment, the 'Yin Body' is still in the Underworld while the 'Yang Body' has already entered the Underworld. It is through the 'Yin Dragon' that the connection between Yin and Yang is established. When the Midwife cuts the infant's umbilical cord, only then can the 'Yin Body' and 'Yang Body' merge into one, commonly referred to as 'reincarnation.'"
He moistened his lips. "In truth, everyone fears death. The soul is deeply attached to the Yang body, so if it senses any remaining Yang energy, it will never leave. Because 'Yin Yin' shares the same lineage, combined with the fact that this person has used Taoist methods to empower it, it can easily mislead the soul into thinking this is its own body, allowing it to possess it. Meanwhile, 'Yin Qi' acts as a bridge simulating reincarnation between them."
Wei Ning swallowed hard, astonished that such profound spells existed in the world.
"Look, that fellow seems distracted. This is a critical moment for skill; if any soul is lost, we won't obtain the complete Yin soul!"
The man slammed the Ruler down on the table again. Wang Tuozi scoffed, "Hey, is that a measuring stick? The Maoshan people are getting poorer by the day; can't they use better materials? They're really falling behind."
The man took out a long needle. Wang Tuozi shook his head and sighed, "I can smell the corpse oil from this distance; it's not pure at all. There's no need for such low-quality goods; doesn't he understand that one must sharpen their tools before doing good work? Oh dear... Ancestors of Maoshan, please take this unworthy disciple under your wing and prevent him from embarrassing himself further."
The man plunged the long needle directly into the infant's spiritual cavity. The infant's previously dim eyes suddenly sparkled with brilliance as a wisp of blue smoke slowly emerged from its spirit. The man's expression turned tense; beads of sweat began to form at his temples. He knew this was an extremely critical moment—one wrong move could ruin everything.
"Wang Tuozi said: "Humans have three souls: one named Shuang Ling, another named Tai Guang, and the third named You Jing. Their colors are red, white, and blue; just now what he mentioned was the blue You Jing."
Indeed, the blue smoke swirled in midair for a moment before gradually flying toward the opened glass bottle containing 'Yin Yin,' slowly merging with it. The glass bottle emitted a faint glow but quickly returned to calm.
Following protocol, he extracted red and white light from the child's spirit and sealed them in their respective glass bottles. He then picked up a piece of peach wood resting on the table; it turned out to be a pre-carved coffin. He placed the glass bottles inside and sealed them with peach talismans.
Wang Tuozi remarked, "This person is lucky; no mistakes occurred during his distraction. Next comes Nurturing Ghosts. Do you see that other piece of willow wood? He will carve it into the shape of a child next, drawing features on it before placing these two broken pieces of wood in a gathering place for Yin energy. Generally speaking, after forty-nine days of Qiqi, it can achieve great success—but I doubt he will succeed even after forty-nine years."
Wei Ning asked, "Master, what does he intend to do with Nurturing Ghosts?"
Wang Tuozi shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Many things—gathering wealth or causing harm; it depends on what he likes to do."
"Is there any harm to ghosts?"
"Not necessarily. If it's a skilled Taoist nurturing them, it might not be good for ghosts at all; they might accumulate some merit and escape from reincarnation suffering to become an Earth Immortal. However, most like him tend to scatter souls into oblivion. Alas! It's always just one word: tragedy."
Wei Ning exclaimed, "Master, is there any way to save it?"
"There is a method," the master replied. "Unless someone with profound skills performs a rite for it, it cannot be reborn into Reincarnation."
"Where can we find such a person?" Wei Ning asked anxiously.
Wang Tuozi glanced at Wei Ning and said, "What do you think of me?"
Indeed, Wang Tuozi was so familiar with the techniques of Nurturing Ghosts that he must know how to save it. Wei Ning hurriedly said, "Then let's go save it!"
Wang Tuozi smiled and replied, "The reason I hesitated earlier was that Nurturing Ghosts is an extremely perilous Dao Technique. That person is a novice; if I disturb him and things go wrong, the ghost could end up in worse shape, which would be counterproductive."
"But now, it's time for my intervention."
Wang Tuozi adjusted his attire and cleared his throat. The people in the room immediately shouted, "Who goes there?"
"A friend," Wang Tuozi said as he entered the room with an air of leisure. "Aren't you afraid of losing your essence by doing such things?"
The person turned around, and at that moment, Wang Tuozi and Wei Ning finally recognized him—it was Zhou Xin!
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