Chapter 378
Chapter 378
On the way home, Song Xiaotian asked whether we were really going to stand by and do nothing after Liang Yi seized An Yutong’s body.
I had considered that question throughout my dozen days in the hospital.
In truth, there was nothing we could do.
We had many ways to expose inconsistencies in Liang Yi’s identity. An Yutong could drive, for example, while Liang Yi could not.
Liang Yi could not possibly know every detail of An Yutong’s family.
Nor did she understand An Yutong’s social relationships.
We could use those facts to prove there was something seriously wrong with the current An Yutong.
The difficulty lay in explaining Soul Seizure to An Yutong’s parents and the law, then convincing them it was real.
With Liang Yi’s intelligence, she could easily invent explanations for those inconsistencies, such as illness or amnesia.
More importantly, this was an age of science and law.
No matter how we tried to prove it, all our evidence would appear unscientific and absurd.
“If we can’t expose her, the least we can do is stop her from making the same mistakes,” I sighed. “With her perseverance, her desire to change her fate, and the resources she now possesses, she is certain to become formidable. If someone like that has a corrupt heart, she’ll harm countless people.”
I could only hope that after receiving affection from An Yutong’s parents, Liang Yi would recover the humanity she had lost.
Song Xiaotian drove me to Seventh Master’s home.
I could not work with my injured leg.
But I couldn’t tolerate staying home all day, either, so I decided to recover at Seventh Master’s place. At least I would have company. More importantly, I could use the time to learn from him.
After dropping me off, Song Xiaotian went home.
Since I had trouble walking, Seventh Master prepared a bed for me in a small room on the ground floor.
It was already late, so we went to sleep early.
…
I woke early the next morning while Seventh Master was making breakfast in the kitchen.
After washing up, I stood in the hall and noticed one of the locked rooms.
It had no windows, and a Talisman was pasted on its door.
Curious, I walked over for a closer look.
I had seen this Talisman in the Fulu section of Mysteries of the Six Yao. It was used for Ghost Rearing.
Ghosts and humans possessed different magnetic fields, creating a clash of Yin and Yang. Such clashes naturally followed the principle of the strong bullying the weak. The weaker side suffered badly, but the result was not as simple as the strong defeating the weak.
When the stronger side attacked the weaker, it expended its own energy in the process. Both sides were affected, only to different degrees.
That was the origin of the saying that humans and ghosts followed separate paths.
But the world was full of strange people who still practiced things like Ghost Rearing.
To minimize the damage, practitioners used this type of Talisman to isolate the magnetic fields of ghosts and humans so neither side would be greatly affected.
But why was Seventh Master rearing a ghost?
There was definitely a ghost inside that room, and he wasn’t performing Exorcism on it. Seventh Master had a separate room specifically for helping ghosts who refused reincarnation move on.
Ghost Rearing was a major taboo in our circle.
Why was that old bastard doing it in secret?
Did the ghost have some connection to him?
Or had loneliness driven him to keep an Old Woman in there…?
As I pondered the possibilities, footsteps suddenly sounded outside.
Naturally, I moved away from the door and decided not to pry. Everyone had secrets.
Over breakfast, I asked Seventh Master whether the Mystic Sect had any method for changing a person’s Fate Pattern.
“Changing your Fate Pattern?”
Seventh Master frowned slightly. “Why are you suddenly asking that? What are you planning?”
I said, “A human life isn’t especially long or especially short. My fate harms my relatives and my wife. Nearly all my family members are dead. The only one left is my mother, and she won’t acknowledge me.”
“The dead naturally can’t return. That can’t be reversed.”
“But harming my wife…”
My face reddened. “Men and women marry when they come of age. No one wants to grow old alone. If there’s a way to change my Fate Pattern, I’d still like to try fixing it…”
After hearing me out, Seventh Master chuckled and fell into thought.
He put down his bowl and chopsticks, then stroked his chin.
After a long time, he said, “All things generate and restrain one another. In a world this vast, perhaps a method exists. If you’re serious, I’ll ask around for you…”
I nodded and said nothing more.
His answer amounted to comfort.
Changing a Fate Pattern meant changing fate itself. Changing fate defied Heaven and violated the laws of the Heavenly Dao.
Even if such a method truly existed, succeeding might be as difficult as climbing a mountain of blades and crossing a sea of fire.
I continued living at Seventh Master’s home.
His house resembled a library of sacred texts. It contained every kind of book, all related to mysticism.
I even found a Han-dynasty edition of the Benjing Yinfu.
In mystical circles, that book alone was an antique, even though it was not an original copy.
Besides reading it, I studied books about theories of the soul.
I wanted to uncover the secret hidden within me: the secret of Two Souls in One Life.
But after reading many volumes, I found nothing.
As Seventh Master had said, there was no precedent for Two Souls in One Life and therefore no relevant record.
I still could not decipher my secret, but the books taught me plenty of other things.
Living with Seventh Master also showed me more of his ordinary life.
He was just like any other Old Man. He spent his days boasting with other elderly people, drinking tea, playing cards, and occasionally joining Old Women for public dancing nearby.
Of course, many people also came to consult him about supernatural matters.
One day, I sat at the front entrance reading the Benjing Yinfu while Seventh Master was away. A visitor arrived seeking his help.
The man was around thirty, with the appearance of wealth and an extraordinary bearing.
He caught my attention because among everyone who had visited Seventh Master recently, he appeared the wealthiest.
I politely invited him into the hall, then called Seventh Master and asked him to come back.
About ten minutes later, Seventh Master returned from a nearby card game.
Someone else had referred the man. He treated Seventh Master respectfully but did not appear to trust him completely.
Seventh Master took out his phone and opened a note he had written two days earlier.
After glancing at it, he said, “A deceased relative has been using Dream Projection to contact you, hasn’t he?”
The man was stunned. “Master, how did you know?”
Seventh Master waved a hand and smiled. “That isn’t important. Just explain the situation.”
The man rubbed his hands together, apparently unsure where to begin.
After a long silence, he asked, “Have you heard of the most notorious Stigmatized Property in Lanjiang City?”