Chapter 40: Interrogating Xiao Gui

  Just as everyone was at a loss for what to do next, my master, the old Daoist of Bamboo Mountain, suddenly lit up his eyes and shouted loudly. "Where is the little ghost escaping to?"

  As soon as the shout fell, Zhangshan Old Dao took his duster and rushed to the corner of the house. After running to the corner of the house, Zhangshan Old Dao suddenly started dancing. Later, my master told me that he was fighting with a little ghost at that time. However, recalling the scene at that time, no matter how I looked, I felt that my master Zhangshan Old Dao was hugging a woman and dancing. Unfortunately, I couldn't see that little ghost.

  Let's not talk about other things for now, let's get back to the scene. My master, Zhangshan Lao Dao, jumped up and danced a very ugly dance, like an old lady dancing in the fields, and then sat down cross-legged on the spot, reciting scriptures.

  The scripture that my master read this time, I had never heard of it before and didn't know what kind of scripture it was. However, I felt that he read it very quickly, with a strong sense of rhythm, and it sounded quite pleasant.

  If I had known the word RAP at that time, I would have suggested to my master not to be a Taoist priest anymore and change his career to be a singer! Even scriptures can be recited with a RAP flavor, such a person should either become a singer or it's really a waste of talent!

  After finishing that segment of RAP that no one could make out what the lyrics were, my master, Zhangshan Lao Dao, immediately took out another transparent glass vial.

  "Receive!" My master shouted loudly.

  As soon as the voice fell, the small glass bottle was immediately filled with black smoke. Once the black smoke was in place, my master immediately plugged the mouth of the glass bottle with a cork.

  Seeing this, I think my master not only can go to be a singer, but also can guest as a magician or something. Such an all-around performer like him, I think should completely go on the Spring Festival Gala stage to show off.

  Everyone thinks about it, an old Taoist with a fairy wind and bone, on the Spring Festival Gala stage. Singing rap filled with scripture words while performing magic to capture little ghosts, how interesting is that! Such a program, if it doesn't become popular, it's not okay!

  Teasing Master is not a good habit, so I won't continue teasing him. Let's get back to the topic!

  "The Mie Men Po faction has sent these little ghosts to do what, I haven't figured it out yet. However, I just caught one of the little ghosts sent by Mie Men Po and it's already been locked in this Soul Locking Bottle. By tomorrow noon, after a good interrogation, everything should be clear." said Zhang Shan Lao Dao, pointing at the glass bottle in his hand.

  In my opinion, the glass bottle in my master Zhu Shan Lao Dao's hand is just an ordinary glass bottle. I didn't see anything special about that glass bottle.

  However, I have stayed in my master's old nest, Zhushan Temple. In Zhushan Temple, except for the snakes in those few wine jars, I didn't find anything strange. His Taoist robes, peach wood swords and so on, I think they are similar to those of other Taoists.

  I once suspected that my master's jumping god gadgets might have been bought from some small shop on the street!

  "Why do we have to wait until tomorrow noon for the trial? Now that it's already been caught, why can't we just hold the trial immediately?" I thought to myself, if we can clarify things earlier, my family can live in peace sooner. So, this little brat (me) raised his doubts to my master.

  "At noon, the yang energy is at its strongest, and it's the moment when little ghosts are most timid. Therefore, noon is the best time to interrogate little ghosts," said Bamboo Mountain Old Dao.

  The next day at noon, my master Zhangshan Lao Dao set up a ritual platform in the yard of my home. "Yard" may not be clear to some friends, so I'll explain it here. "Yard" is also known as "courtyard", which refers to the flat land in front of and behind a house, its main function is to dry grains, wheat and other crops.

  This so-called law court is actually very simple. Just set up an eight-immortal table in the middle of the ground, and then spread a white cloth with the Eight Trigrams pattern on the table. Then, put a basin of clear water on that white cloth.

  Since it's a Buddhist ritual, whether it's a big or small one, incense sticks, candles and spirit money are all necessary.

  After all this preparation, at noon twelve o'clock, the Buddhist ceremony began.

  All that was seen was the old Taoist of Bamboo Mountain putting the glass bottle on the table. Although it was already September, the lingering heat of the autumnal equinox had not yet dissipated, and the midday sun was still very fierce.

  Zhu Shan Lao Dao put the glass bottle on the table and began to recite his incomprehensible scriptures. My master Zhu Shan Lao Dao recited for about five or six minutes before stopping.

  Actually, during the time my master was reciting sutras, I stared intently at that glass bottle. In my view, the glass bottle did not change in any way during this period, and the black smoke inside neither thickened nor thinned.

  My intuition tells me that the sutras my master recited just now didn't have much effect.

  As expected, my master spoke up.

  "This little devil's bones are quite hard!" said Zhangshan Old Dao.

  "Does a ghost have bones too? Then aren't its bones smaller than fingertips? Otherwise, how can they fit into such a small bottle?" I asked these questions with a sincere face.

  This little kid of mine not only loves to ask silly questions, but also likes to nitpick. However, at that time, I really didn't understand what my master meant, and I thought it was because the little ghost's bones were too hard for my master to deal with.

  For these questions I raised, not only did they make my master speechless, but also made my parents speechless.

  "What are you asking blindly?" My mom gently tapped on my forehead and scolded.

  "I don't know, that's why I'm asking!" I stuck out my tongue at my mom and made a face.

  "What I meant by that was that this little demon is very stubborn and refuses to surrender, not that it really has bones. A demon is a ghost, and ghosts don't have bodies, so how can they have bones?" My master patiently began to explain to me.

  My master explained it this way and I understood, so I stopped asking further questions. My master, the old Taoist of Bamboo Mountain, could then continue with his trial work.

  "It's no use asking him like this, he won't say anything. This little devil is too stubborn, we need to add some pressure." Bamboo Mountain Old Dao said with a serious face.

  After finishing speaking, my master Zhu Shan Lao Dao asked my mother to prepare some dry firewood.

  After everything was ready, my master, the old Daoist of Bamboo Mountain, lit a fire with those dry straws in the middle of the altar. After the fire was burning strongly, my master took out a red string from his bag and tied it around the glass bottle.

  After putting it on, my master tied the other end of the red rope to the tip of his peach wood sword. After tying it up, my master held the hilt of the peach wood sword and hung the glass bottle directly above the flame.

  After being roasted for a few minutes, the glass bottle had turned bright red and the black smoke inside was twisting and writhing. It could be seen that the black smoke, which was the little demon inside the glass bottle, was now in great agony.

  After seeing all this, I decided not to call that soul-locking bottle a glass bottle anymore. Because it really isn't an ordinary glass bottle. If you put an ordinary glass bottle on the fire to roast, it will only turn black, and it's absolutely impossible to turn red.

  After thoroughly heating the soul-locking bottle, my master, Zhangshan Lao Dao, removed it from above the flames. After removing it, I thought my master Zhangshan Lao Dao was going to chant again, but my judgment was wrong. My master Zhangshan Lao Dao did not chant, but instead threw the soul-locking bottle into a basin filled with water.

  Hiss...

  After a long hiss, the Soul Locking Bottle immediately returned to its original color, and the green smoke inside also faded a bit.

  At this moment, I dare to confirm that the soul-locking vase will not be made of glass. To know, if it is a glass bottle, after being burned on fire and then thrown into cold water, it will definitely burst. And this soul-locking vase, not only did it not burst, but it also immediately restored its original color, I dare to confirm that it must be a treasure.

  "This little demon still refuses to confess. He told me that his wife is in the hands of Mie Men Po, and if he reveals Mie Men Po's secrets, she will harm his wife. Therefore, if we want him to confess, there is only one way: we must go to Mie Men Po's place, rescue his wife from her clutches, and control her in our hands. It can be seen that this little demon loves his wife very much, and if we can grasp the soul of his wife, he will have no choice but to confess." said Zhu Shan Lao Dao.