chapter 29
Soul Reincarnation in Corpse-I’d only ever seen that in movies.
Never thought it could be real.
“Seventh Master, don’t scare me.”
Meng Yifan was terrified of this kind of thing: “Chen Mo and I are both men. Even if she wants Soul Reincarnation in Corpse, why would she target us? Does she want to experience the joys of being a man after being reborn?”
Seventh Master glanced at him and said, “Soul Reincarnation in Corpse isn’t what you think. Literally, it means borrowing a corpse to come back to life, but if you think about it, that’s not possible at all.”
“After someone dies, all their organs are dead. Even if someone could perform Soul Reincarnation in Corpse, how would they make a body that’s already dead live like a normal person?”
“The real Soul Reincarnation in Corpse, explained in Taoism, is called Soul Seizure. Soul Seizure means a person’s soul occupies another person’s body, but that body must be alive.”
“And it’s not that simple to perform Soul Seizure. There’s a lot to it. Simply put, from the moment a person is born, their soul is bound to their body, producing the Seven Souls, which determine that person’s Fate Pattern for life.”
“Soul Seizure is like changing the Fate Pattern of two people at once, which goes against the Heavenly Dao.”
Meng Yifan and I were like two elementary school kids, listening to Seventh Master lecture.
I caught a hint of something deeper: “Taoism is such a vast religion, and it can precisely define Soul Reincarnation in Corpse as ‘Soul Seizure.’ That means Soul Seizure exists, and it’s actually possible…”
“You’re smart,” Seventh Master praised me, then continued, “Where there’s good, there’s evil. Some people, in order to truly achieve Soul Seizure, developed a dark technique called the Seven-Deaths Life-Exchange Technique.”
“Sacrifice the lives of seven people, use their Fate Patterns to fill the defects caused by Soul Seizure, eliminate the rejection between soul and body, greatly increasing the success rate. If it succeeds, a new Fate Pattern is born.”
Cold sweat broke out on me as I listened, and I couldn’t help but say, “Seventh Master, are people in your circle all this twisted…”
He smacked me hard on the head and scolded, “What’s wrong with you? I said it’s an evil technique-no decent person practices it. Most people in our circle are good.”
I quickly apologized: “Please continue. Has this ever happened before?”
Seventh Master thought for a moment and said, “I’ve never encountered it myself, but my Master told me that in his time, these things happened quite a lot.”
“But in all the cases he told me about, none ended well. The so-called filling of Fate Pattern defects actually brings even greater flaws-cursing spouses, parents, children, a lifetime of bad luck. There’s never a good ending. That’s called retribution.”
Meng Yifan suddenly looked at me: “Chen Mo, didn’t your grandfather say you curse your wife? Maybe you’ve been Soul Seized too?”
“Go to hell!” I glared at him.
I already hated this topic, and he was joking about it.
I asked Seventh Master, “How can you be sure Du Yuwei wants to perform Soul Seizure and be reborn?”
Seventh Master replied, “The body hasn’t been cremated or buried. That’s what worries me, because the first condition for the Seven-Deaths Life-Exchange Technique is that the body can’t be destroyed or allowed to rot.”
I immediately started to worry too.
If things were really as Seventh Master said, Meng Yifan and I were in trouble, because we might be two of the seven unlucky sacrifices.
Du Yuwei wants to sacrifice us!
Damn it!
Why am I so unlucky!
“So where exactly is her body?”
Meng Yifan frowned and said, “If it’s neither cremated nor buried, and the body must be kept from decaying, then the only place left is the hospital morgue…”
I interrupted, “Du Ruhai is now Du Yuwei’s adoptive father. I think he’s definitely involved in this, and he cares a lot about his reputation. He wouldn’t leave the body at a third-party institution.”
“Not to mention Ghost Rearing or Soul Seizure-these are things that absolutely cannot be known by outsiders. He’d keep it as secret as possible.”
“So, what’s the most secret place?”
Meng Yifan picked up the thread, eyes wide: “At home…”
I nodded, “Most likely, it’s still at home.”
Meng Yifan: “Oh damn!”
“So what do we do? Steal the body?”
“That’s Du Ruhai’s house!”
I thought about it. This really was a tough problem.
Breaking into someone’s home is illegal, and enough to get you sentenced.
But this was a matter of life and death-we had to go.
So I made up my mind: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Let’s go. We have to solve this.”
Meng Yifan was still hesitant: “Should we go during the day or at night? There are so many people in the neighborhood during the day, and at night Du Ruhai is home. What do you think this is, a movie? The Matrix?”
I took out my phone and pulled up a news article: “Du Ruhai went to another province for an event. He won’t be home at least tonight. This is a perfect opportunity for us. If we wait until he’s back, we’ll really have no chance.”
Meng Yifan was quickly convinced.
I looked at Seventh Master, asking him to come with us.
Seventh Master shuddered, looking at me in panic: “Are you crazy? Do you know what the sentence is for breaking into someone’s home? I’m already old, and you want me to do this? What about my reputation in my twilight years!”
Of course I knew this was risky, and I couldn’t force him.
But if he didn’t come, what if Du Yuwei caught the two of us red-handed?
I was ready to guilt-trip him.
“Seventh Master, if she wants to use Soul Seizure to be reborn, seven people will die.”
“Someone as righteous as you, how could you let her harm the innocent?”
“That’s not in line with your noble character.”
Seventh Master was silent after I said that.
He thought for a moment, but his attitude was still firm: “No way. You’re just using me as a scapegoat! I don’t even make any money, and now I have to risk my neck with you two? What do you take me for, an idiot? Stop trying to convince me. I’m not agreeing!”
…
At Zi Hour that night.
Meng Yifan, Seventh Master, and I stood by the roadside, looking across the street.
Across from us was the most expensive area in the city, filled with luxury villas and wealthy residents.
In the end, we still managed to talk Seventh Master into coming.
But he didn’t look happy at all.
“Ugh, my head hurts. Must be the concussion acting up. Quick, call 120 for me,” Seventh Master said, pretending to collapse.
Meng Yifan and I hurriedly propped him up: “Seventh Master, stop pretending. You’re already here, so drop the act.”
“Hmph!”
He glared at us fiercely, hands behind his back, throwing a tantrum.
I didn’t bother with him for now, just kept my eyes on the villa district across the street.
Meng Yifan smoked and asked, “We’re here, but how do we get in? Forget a rich neighborhood like this-even a slightly upscale community is hard to sneak into.”
“I’ve toured places like this before. With all the surveillance and security, there’s almost no way to get in.”
I replied calmly, “Don’t worry. I’ve already planned how we’re getting in.”