chapter 28
The communication over the phone was always vague and unclear.
Meng Yifan and I never really understood what Seventh Master meant.
Perhaps it was because we knew nothing about the field of metaphysics, so everything sounded hazy and confusing to us.
“Seventh Master, could you explain it in more detail…”
“Alright.”
Seventh Master sounded a bit helpless, but still explained patiently: “It is said that a person has Three Souls: the first is the Heaven Soul, the second is the Human Soul, and the third is the Earth Soul.”
What is the Heaven Soul?
The Heaven Soul is also called the main soul. After a person dies, the Heaven Soul returns to the heavens and becomes part of the magnetic field of the universe.
The Human Soul, also known as the Corpse-Guarding Soul or the Physical Soul, leaves the body within eight hours after death and drifts about. On the seventh night, it returns home for one last look at its loved ones, then the Corpse-Guarding Soul goes to its own grave to guard the physical body for a long time.
Seventh Master said that there are many intricacies regarding the Corpse-Guarding Soul. For example, the feng shui of a burial site influences descendants through the Corpse-Guarding Soul, and when we pay respects to our ancestors, it is actually the Corpse-Guarding Soul we are worshipping.
Lastly, there is the Earth Soul, also called the Karmic Soul, which records all the good and evil deeds of a person in this lifetime.
In various legends, it is said that those who commit many evil deeds will go to hell for punishment, while kind people can be reborn into a good family. In reality, this judgment is made through the Karmic Soul.
After the Karmic Soul is judged and is allowed to reincarnate, the Heaven Soul and Human Soul return, and at that moment, the Three Souls become one, giving rise to the new Seven Souls, and a new life is about to be born.
This is the entire process of the cycle of life and reincarnation.
Meng Yifan and I listened very intently, and we were deeply shocked.
We didn’t know if this was true or not, but it sounded very reasonable.
“The principle behind a Fierce Ghost harming people is that after death, if the resentment is too strong, the Karmic Soul and the Corpse-Guarding Soul are gathered together again. But without the suppression of the Heaven Soul, their thoughts are almost unified-to fulfill their wishes from life, or to seek revenge.”
Seventh Master explained in great detail: “But simply gathering the Karmic Soul and Corpse-Guarding Soul together is not very useful, because the Ghost of someone who has just died is very weak, and may even fear the yang energy of the living. So they need time to settle and absorb the surrounding energy and magnetic fields. We call this Soul Nurturing.”
“Li Xiumei has been dead for fifteen years, and died with great resentment. That’s why she became a Fierce Ghost. Even someone with some cultivation would have a hard time dealing with her.”
I finally understood what Seventh Master meant earlier, and continued, “So Du Yuwei has only been dead for three months. She doesn’t have the conditions to become a Fierce Ghost. She might even still fear the yang energy of the living, let alone scare two grown men like Meng Yifan and me, right?”
Because men have stronger yang energy, and young men even more so.
“Exactly!”
Seventh Master became serious again, as if he took this very seriously: “She doesn’t have the conditions to become a Fierce Ghost. You can think of this as the ‘innate’ condition. But lacking the innate condition doesn’t mean the acquired condition can’t make up for it.”
I continued, feeling a chill in my heart: “By acquired condition, do you mean what you just called Ghost Rearing?”
Seventh Master: “That’s right. In our circle, not mentioning orthodox Taoist rules, we believe that there is no good or bad in the arts, only fear that someone with ill intent will misuse them.”
“I’ve met quite a few people with some cultivation, who, unable to get over the pain of losing a child, keep their child’s Ghost by their side and use their meager cultivation to nurture it. But they don’t realize this goes against the laws of nature. With such little cultivation, it’s easy for things to backfire, leading to the destruction of their family. I’ve seen this happen too many times.”
Meng Yifan and I were both creeped out.
Once you enter this circle, you really do get to see all sorts of strange and bizarre things.
But this kind of thing seems to be only human nature…
I said, “If my dad and my grandpa died, I think I could do the same.”
Seventh Master snorted, “Then you really are a filial son.”
Meng Yifan leaned in and asked, “So who is rearing the ghost, Du Ruhai or Lv Zhengxian?”
Seventh Master said, “That I don’t know. In any case, the person rearing the ghost is most likely someone closest to her. And right now, her identity is still Du Ruhai’s adopted daughter. To rear a ghost, you first need to get her ashes. But who would dare touch her ashes?”
No one dared to touch the ashes of Du Ruhai’s adopted daughter.
Unless that person is Du Ruhai himself, or Lv Zhengxian.
Seventh Master sighed, “That’s not even the most serious part. Ghost Rearing, at worst, harms only the person doing it and their family. But often, Ghost Rearing can easily lead to other behaviors.”
Curious, I quickly asked, “What kind of behaviors?”
But Seventh Master refused to say more. From his words, I could tell that the other behavior stemming from Ghost Rearing was probably very serious.
“Right now, the most important thing is to find Du Yuwei’s ashes.”
Seventh Master continued, “She just died not long ago, much easier to deal with than Li Xiumei. As long as I find her ashes, I have a way to perform Exorcism for her.”
I said Brother Liu was unwilling to help, so it would be very hard for us to find where Du Yuwei was buried.
Lanjiang City is a big city, with who knows how many cemeteries and columbariums. If we searched one by one, it would probably take at least ten days or half a month.
By the time we finished searching, Meng Yifan and I would probably be ashes ourselves.
Seventh Master said, “I can ask people in my circle about this. The body must be sent to the crematorium for cremation, that’s unavoidable. Du Ruhai is a celebrity, so it should be easy to find out.”
So, we agreed to meet Seventh Master for dinner.
He said he should be able to find out today where Du Yuwei was buried.
But by six o’clock that evening,
After meeting Seventh Master at a restaurant, he brought us not-so-good news.
He had asked many friends today about Du Yuwei’s burial place, but none of the funeral homes or crematoriums in Lanjiang City, big or small, had ever received Du Yuwei’s body.
They didn’t even know anyone in the Du Family had passed away.
This was truly strange.
Ever since the funeral system was implemented, Lanjiang City has enforced mandatory cremation. After death, only cremation is allowed, not burial.
Even if Du Ruhai has power and influence, and can pull strings everywhere, if he really wanted to bury Du Yuwei, there would still have to be a professional team to transport the body.
But Seventh Master added, “No one has taken on any business from the Du Family in the past three months. If anyone had, Du Ruhai is a celebrity, and the news would have spread in the circle long ago.”
Meng Yifan looked stunned, “No cremation, no burial-did he burn her at home himself?”
I was speechless, “You think it’s like roasting a whole lamb, and you can just do it yourself? I think Du Ruhai probably never intended to deal with Du Yuwei’s body at all.”
But the person is already dead. If he doesn’t deal with the body, what does he want to do?
Keep it at home?
At this moment, all the dishes were served, but Seventh Master had no appetite at all.
He frowned deeply at us, “This is exactly what I’m most worried about. The person rearing the ghost can easily extend into another kind of behavior.”
Meng Yifan and I immediately grew nervous.
What kind of behavior was it? Seventh Master was finally about to reveal it to us.
Then, he spoke four words, which truly sent chills down our spines again.
“Soul Reincarnation in Corpse…”