Chapter 53
Chapter 53
Under the bright moonlight, Chang Huaiyuan, Old Sixth Hui, and Hemp-clad Grandmother sat around a stone table.
Steam rose from the wine on the table.
Chang Huaiyuan wore a gentle smile, his white clothes as pure as snow. Old Sixth Hui had a wretched air about him, yet his gaze toward Hua Jiunan was sincere. Hemp-clad Grandmother had a tobacco pipe clenched in her teeth, and eight Red-Dressed Female Ghosts stood in a neat row behind her.
Upon seeing Hua Jiunan, the Red-Dressed Female Ghosts bowed in unison.
“This servant greets the young master.”
Hua Jiunan still couldn’t get used to these ancient formalities and hurriedly cupped his hands to return the salute.
Chen Daji opened a bag of spicy strips and placed them on the table. “Grandmother, Old Immortals, please try some! They’re delicious!”
To Hua Jiunan’s surprise, the three Immortal Spirits didn’t look down on the snack. Instead, they were full of praise for the flavor of the spicy strips.
However, their way of eating differed slightly.
Chang Huaiyuan and Old Sixth Hui ate normally enough, but Hemp-clad Grandmother merely leaned in to sniff them before placing them back on the table.
Chen Daji asked cautiously, “Grandmother, do you not like them?”
Hemp-clad Grandmother let out a cackling laugh. “My dear grandson, I’ve already eaten them.”
Driven by curiosity, Chen Daji took a bite of a spicy strip that Hemp-clad Grandmother had sniffed.
“Oh! There’s really no flavor left at all. It’s like chewing on cardboard! Grandmother, your way of eating is so badass. Doesn’t that mean you can eat as much as you want? You’ll never get bloated!”
Hemp-clad Grandmother was moved to fits of strange laughter by Chen Daji’s antics. “Jie-jie-jie! Grandmother is liking you little brat more and more!”
Chen Daji hesitated for a moment before cautiously offering a bag of spicy strips to the eight female ghosts behind him. “Sisters, you should try some too.”
The female ghosts didn’t dare take them, looking toward Hemp-clad Grandmother in unison.
Hemp-clad Grandmother feigned anger. “Why are you looking at this old woman?! Daji isn’t an outsider. If you want to eat, then take them!”
Only then did the eight Red-Dressed Female Ghosts reach out to accept the gift, not forgetting to bow to Chen Daji. “This servant thanks Young Master Chen.”
Whenever Chen Daji faced the opposite sex, he was always flippant and lacked any sense of propriety. Consequently, most girls he met either ignored him or called him a pervert. Even Li Yun, the goddess in his heart, had never given him a kind look.
Now that eight female ghosts were calling him “Young Master Chen,” Chen Daji was beaming with joy. “Sisters, eat your fill! If you like them, I’ll bring more for you next week!”
Seeing Chen Daji’s eager-to-please behavior, Hemp-clad Grandmother couldn’t help but tease him.
“Little brat, are these personal maidservants of mine pretty?”
Chen Daji wore the expression of a total lecher. “How can you just say ‘pretty’? They are incredibly beautiful!”
Hemp-clad Grandmother laughed even harder. “You really wear your heart on your sleeve, little brat. I like that. I’ll make the decision for you today: once you die, you can pick one of them to be your wife!”
Hearing this, the eight Red-Dressed Female Ghosts all looked bashful.
However, Chen Daji shivered at the word “die.” He muttered to Hua Jiunan, “Big Brother, why does Grandmother always want me to die…”
Hua Jiunan didn’t bother responding to him. He took out the luopan and the peach wood small sword and placed them on the table. He then repeated everything the Daoist Soul had told him.
After listening, Old Sixth Hui wore a savage grin. “So, this is all the work of that ugly female Taoist from back then! Young master physician, now that you’ve learned Daoist arts, do you have a way to find her? Since she dared to provoke us, I’ll make sure her soul is scattered and she never enters reincarnation!”
Chang Huaiyuan was calmer than Old Sixth Hui. He spoke up, saying, “Brother Hui, don’t be so hasty. The Five Ghosts Burial Method that the evil Taoist spent a century to complete is surely extraordinary. Let’s have the young master physician explain it first.”
The Five Ghosts Burial Method was an occult technique recorded in the Baopuzi Inner Chapters.
The first step was “Guide.”
First, a person must be chosen and made to die after suffering extreme torment. The practitioner would then use the soaring resentment after her death for their cultivation. This involved rituals such as to flay skin and pull out tendons and using an iron coffin locks soul.
The second step was “Retribution.”
The practitioner would take the person who tormented the “Guide” ghost to death and cruelly torture them to death in turn. They would then be buried in an extremely inauspicious site known as White Tiger Containing Sha. This involved rituals like human skin made into lamps and to bind corpse and refine soul.
The third step was “Patricide/Matricide.”
The practitioner would use evil arts to control the “Retribution” ghost, forcing them to personally kill their own direct blood descendants. Since ancient times, whether it was a son killing his parents or parents killing their own children, it was an unpardonable sin against the laws of heaven. Those who committed such acts were rejected by heaven and earth and despised by all living beings after death. Naturally, they would turn into vicious and malevolent filthy things.
When flesh and blood turn on each other, it is a human tragedy. To cut off descendants and end lineage completes the Five Ghosts Burial.
At this stage, the Five Ghosts Burial Method was considered complete. By absorbing the resentment of the five ghosts, the practitioner would not only become incredibly fierce but could also control the five ghosts to aid them. Furthermore, as long as even one ghost remained unvanquished, the practitioner could borrow corpse to return soul and be reborn on the spot.