Chapter 46: The Road to the Yellow Spring

  After leaving the old mansion of the exterminated family, I and my master, Zhangshan Old Taoist, rushed back to Zhangshan Temple without stopping. After returning to Zhangshan Temple, my master, Zhangshan Old Taoist, immediately set up a ritual platform and began to interrogate the ghost through magic.

  My master, the old Taoist of Bamboo Mountain, recited incantations and asked questions for half a day, but that little demon still didn't say anything. To be honest, my master had already helped him rescue his wife, so he should have kept his promise and told everything to my master. But even though things had reached this point, the little demon still said nothing, which naturally made my master angry.

  You want to know, my master Zhu Shan Lao Dao is also a very temperamental person. My master Zhu Shan Lao Dao has been in the yin and yang realms for decades, but that little ghost has never played tricks on him like this before.

  My master has a principle in doing things, that is, if you are not benevolent, then don't blame me for being unrighteous. Therefore, this little devil fooled my master, and he will pay a great price for it.

  My master took the soul-locking bottle into the first room on the left, opened one of the wine jars. After opening the wine jar, my master found a bamboo skewer, dipped some wine in the jar. Then, my master pulled out the cork and dripped the wine from the bamboo skewer into the soul-locking bottle.

  A drop of wine entered the soul-locking bottle, and the green smoke inside immediately turned red. After turning red, those smokes immediately began to collide wildly in the bottle.

  "Are you going to surrender or not?" My master, the old Daoist of Bamboo Mountain, shouted loudly, then began reciting that incomprehensible scripture again.

  As I was reciting, a faint smile suddenly appeared at the corner of my master Zhangshan's mouth. After that fleeting smile, my master Zhangshan's lips, which had been reciting the sutra, immediately closed up.

  "Master, what's going on?" Actually, when I saw my master Zhangshan Lao's smile just now, I knew in my heart that the little ghost must have been summoned. Now I'm asking this just to confirm my judgment.

  "This little ghost is quite sentimental. He insisted that I help his wife's spirit pass on before he would tell me what he knew." My master, the old Daoist of Bamboo Mountain, said.

  This little demon is a clever one, he's very clear that if the old Taoist of Bamboo Mountain doesn't help his wife to ferry her soul and send her on the road to reincarnation, then even though the old Taoist has rescued his wife this time, she'll still just be a lonely ghost wandering outside.

  That exterminator's temperament, the little ghost knew. If the exterminator found out that his wife's soul had escaped, he would definitely think of every possible way to retrieve his wife's soul. If so, then the little ghost not only failed to save his wife but also pushed her into an endless abyss.

  As for why my master laughed, it was because the little demon had brought up a point that he had already thought of. Before going to the Soul House to rescue the little demon's wife, my master, the old Daoist Zhangshan, had already considered this. Whether it was the little demon or his wife, they had both missed the opportunity to take the road to the Yellow Springs because their souls had been taken by the exterminating grandma.

  According to the heavenly principle, after leaving the body, the soul must rush to the Yellow Spring Road immediately. If it is delayed and stopped by someone, the soul will become a wandering ghost without a place to settle.

  Due to the lack of reincarnation, the fate of lonely souls and wild ghosts usually only has two possibilities. The first is that their soul disperses, which is even more painful than being torn apart by five horses. The second is falling into the hands of a person like Exterminating Family Lady, becoming a puppet at others' mercy.

  My master is a man who never does good deeds halfway. Therefore, before rescuing the little demon's wife, he had already made up his mind that not only would he rescue her for the little demon, but also send the little demon and his wife together to the Yellow Spring Road, letting them be reincarnated again.

  After my master, Bamboo Mountain Taoist, told me all this, I still found it strange. Just now in the old mansion of Mie Men Po, my master could have saved all the wild ghosts in the Yang Soul Room, but why did he only save the wife of that little ghost?

  My master didn't say much about this question. He only told me that Taoism talks about "fate". There are many lonely souls and wild ghosts in the world, and it's impossible to save them all. Therefore, those who have fate will be saved, while those without fate should not force it, otherwise they will harm themselves.

  However, looking at the whole thing, this little ghost is still quite cunning. My master, Zhangshan Old Dao, has seen all sorts of ghosts, and this little ghost is no match for him.

  My master, the old Daoist of Bamboo Mountain, with a compassionate attitude, decided to first help that little ghost by saving his wife. Then, after that little ghost had told all the information he knew, he would save the little ghost himself.

  My master, the old Taoist of Bamboo Mountain, conveyed this suggestion to that little demon through reciting scriptures. The little demon was very satisfied after hearing it and immediately nodded in agreement.

  My master, the old Taoist of Bamboo Mountain, is not afraid of mischievous spirits because he has a lot of ways to deal with them. If that spirit doesn't behave itself, my master has plenty of methods to discipline it.

  However, saving the soul is a bit tricky for my master, Zhangshan Lao Dao. My master has seen that the little ghost's wife was raised by Mie Men Pao for ten years. A lonely and wild ghost like this one who has been wandering outside for ten years cannot be saved even by a Taoist priest with high cultivation.

  With my master Zhushan's skill in saving souls, he can only save souls within two years. For a soul that has been wandering outside for ten years, only monks can save it, and they must be highly accomplished monks.

  Taoist and Buddhist families are not the same, nor are they of the same sect. However, both Taoist and Buddhist families pray for blessings for all living things, so they can be considered to be on the same path. Therefore, like my master Zhu Shan Lao Dao, such a powerful Taoist priest would certainly know some powerful monks.

  The Taoist and the Buddhist monk, after all, have their own strengths, and when necessary, they need to help each other in order to make a fortune together.

  Taking the matter of capturing souls as an example, my master, Zhangshan Laodao, who is in the Daoist camp, is extremely skilled at capturing ghosts. No matter how many lonely and wild ghosts there are, even if they have been wandering outside for thousands of years, my master can capture them in a small soul-locking bottle. However, my master can only put those souls into the soul-locking bottle, and at most, he can torture the little ghost inside the bottle again, but he cannot send the little ghost to the Yellow Spring Road, letting it return to the right path.

  For monks, they can lead lonely souls and wild ghosts to the Yellow Spring Road, but even if it's just a wild ghost that has been wandering for one or two years, they still can't be collected.

  Taoist and Buddhist monks, one is good at collecting and the other is good at giving. Only when both work together can things be done perfectly. This is also why wealthy families, when holding rituals, not only invite Taoist priests but also Buddhist monks.

  My master told me that he had to go down the mountain overnight to find his old friend at the ancient Buddha temple for help, and asked if I was going with him.

  To be honest, from the bottom of my heart, I didn't want to go on this trip because it's already late at night and I'm tired and wanted to sleep. But as soon as I heard that Master Zhangshan Lao was leaving, I didn't want to stay in Zhangshan Temple anymore.

  This bamboo mountain temple is on a mountain, once it gets dark, I feel that it's very quiet and deep. If Master leaves, the whole bamboo mountain temple will only have me and Zhang Po-po left. Zhang Po-po is an old lady who doesn't understand Buddhist affairs and has no ability to tie up a chicken, if something happens in the middle of the night at the bamboo mountain temple, she definitely won't be able to handle it. As for me, this little kid, I'm even more helpless.

  Actually, if it weren't for the fact that Master Zhangshan and I went to the old mansion of Mie Men Po tonight, I wouldn't be so scared. I just feel that Master Zhangshan and I going to that old mansion must have been known by Mie Men Po already. Also, the matter of us rescuing that female ghost, she must have known about it too.

  I and Master Gong went to the old mansion to provoke the Exterminating Grandma, that Exterminating Grandma will definitely not let it go so easily, she must be coming to find trouble for me and my master Zhu Shan Lao Dao.

  If the Exterminating Nun decides to come and find trouble with me and my master, Old Daoist Zhangshan, she will probably rush here overnight. If the Exterminating Nun really comes tonight and my master is not around, I'll be in big trouble if I stay at Zhangshan Temple.

  Although I haven't seen many of Mie Men Po's tactics, I personally witnessed the time she released a snake to bite someone. Therefore, if Master is not around, I will absolutely not stay at Zhushan Temple.