Chapter 18: The Secret Art of Mao Mountain

  I walked out of the hospital room with a nervous heart, took out a deep yellow talisman from my own small pocket, learned from my master's appearance, pinched it with my right hand index finger and middle finger, and silently recited: "Urgent as a law, thousand miles to transmit sound!" Then I saw that the talisman emitted a faint yellow light, and I quickly held my breath and told the talisman about seeing ghosts.

  I had just finished speaking when I saw that talisman suddenly ignite with a "whoosh" sound, and then a yellow light shot up into the sky, disappearing to who-knows-where.

  In a luxurious villa in Beijing, Master Chen Tianyi was drinking tea when he suddenly furrowed his brow and stretched out his right hand's index and middle fingers.

  "Pffft——" A faint yellow light was pinched between Master's fingers, and then Master muttered incantations. The yellow talisman emitted my voice: "It's not good, Master! I'm Meng Fei. My aunt has been possessed by a ghost. Please come quickly to save her. There is a white shadow behind her, tightly hugging her waist. I saw it myself. The ghost is very ferocious and my aunt has become paralyzed. I don't want to lose her... Waaahhh..."

  Listening to my wailing, the master's fingers relaxed, and the talisman turned into a wisp of smoke that dissipated in the air. The master sighed, "It's really fate playing tricks on people! It seems I have to teach you earlier than expected."

  Three days later, I received a parcel from Beijing, on which was written "Disciple Meng Fei personally opened!"

  As I opened the package, I saw two yellowed books and a thick dictionary with traditional Chinese characters inside. There was also a small yellow note with a phone number on it, with the area code of Beijing, followed by three words "Chen Tian Yi".

  I looked at the two yellowed books and suddenly understood Master's intention. He wanted me to face this matter myself.

  Two books, one is "Sixteen Words of Mao Mountain Secret Art", and the other is "Taoist Qi Cultivation Method". I took a brief look, the first book talks about some simple spells to subdue evil spirits and zombies, as well as monsters, all are folk remedies. In the back, there are also methods for making Taoist instruments, these instruments have the ability to kill evil spirits and zombies, such as shocking thunder wood, blood hidden symbols, and running thunder techniques. There are also some simple evil-repelling array methods, such as Zi Wu copper coin array, Ling Fu array, etc., as well as some basic items for repelling evil, such as peach wood swords, black dog blood, and lazy donkey hooves.

  The book behind records some Taoist health preservation methods, mainly the Five Animals Play and Changchun Gong, with a set of boxing techniques called Dragon-Tiger Great Strength Boxing. The Five Animals Play is a method for health preservation that can increase lifespan and exercise physical flexibility, while Changchun Gong is a method for cultivating Taoist true energy, and Dragon-Tiger Great Strength Boxing is an external fist technique for strengthening muscles and bones.

  When my parents came back, they bought me a new Nokia 1110 mobile phone. I immediately entered Master's number and even dialed it once. Master told me that he was in the capital to help Master Shu recover from his injuries and would return to Mao Mountain in a few months. My two senior brothers, who were also Master Shu's disciples, Long and Hu, had already gone to Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts. He instructed me not to run around randomly and would come back at the end of the year to find me and teach me the true Taoist skills. I was so excited that I almost died, and I kept flattering Master.

  The master then told me to hurry up and study the two books, and when I came back, he would test me. I nodded repeatedly. Suddenly, I remembered something about Zhang Xiaohong's affairs. The master fell silent for a moment, then said that he had sent Zhang Xiaohong to a secluded place, telling me not to look for her again, or else it would harm her.

  I hung up the phone, remained silent for a while, and my eyes became determined. I must become stronger and change Zhang Xiaohong's fate. In the "Sixteen-Character Miao Shan Secret Technique" given to me by Master, I saw that if a person cultivates to a certain extent, they can defy heaven and change their fate, so I made up my mind.

  After returning home, I studied the two books given to me by my master for a whole day and night, and finally found a way to cure my aunt's illness from them. The book said that my aunt's illness was caused by not fulfilling promises made to certain people, as it is said that the speaker has no intention, but the listener has intention. And this person still remembers things from when they were alive after death, and can't forget.

  So, after this person died, he didn't want to be reincarnated and became a new soul to entangle the elder sister. The new soul is also called the smoke soul, its body is like smoke and fog, unable to condense, so it looks like a white shadow of a person. This kind of vengeful spirit stone is the easiest to deal with, just give the elder sister a bowl of talisman water to drive away ghosts and evil spirits, increase the elder sister's yang energy, and this ghost will naturally not be able to bear it and leave.

  However, if no one intervenes, the vital energy of Dagu will be slowly drained by this ghost, and she will die a miserable death. This is a very troublesome thing. Once this ghost has absorbed a person's vital energy and gained insight into the natural world, it will become an even more formidable vengeful spirit, harming people everywhere. In the end, it will either become a fierce ghost or its soul will disperse, but there is also a possibility that it will evolve into a king, noble, or general, becoming a local tyrant.

  There are three kinds of ghosts: newly deceased new souls, long-dead vengeful spirits, and malevolent spirits that have cultivated their powers.

  The newly deceased soul is like a white gas, with a vague shadow. When it harms people, it attaches to the body, causing illness, evil spirits, nightmares, and even hallucinations.

  The vengeful spirits that have been dead for a long time can produce strong aura, control light and electricity, such as extinguishing the lights, dimming the light, and even making people enter an illusion, then commit suicide, or kill the people around them. Such vengeful spirits can already manifest physically, but not for long, only limited to nights with heavy yin energy and some special houses.

  The third type is a malevolent spirit that has cultivated to the point of having a physical body, and can even appear in broad daylight, directly controlling people's bodies and torturing them to death. Encountering this kind of ghost is like being on the verge of death itself.

  I spent the afternoon at home drawing, and finally drew a talisman to drive away ghosts. Although it wasn't drawn very well, I followed the diagram in the book, so it basically looked about 70-80% like it should. I couldn't help but feel a little proud of myself as I looked at the talisman I had drawn, then I used the method from the book to activate its power. Holding the talisman, I took a bus by myself to the Provincial Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.

  I didn't dare tell my parents, because in reality, no one would believe in such supernatural things without reason.

  My uncle warmly invited me to sit down, and I told my uncle that in order to make my aunt's illness better soon, I went to the Holy Mother Temple in my hometown and asked for a talisman. The heavenly master in the temple said that my aunt was haunted by ghosts, and as long as she drank the talisman water, everything would be fine.

  I spoke very seriously, and although my uncle was a people's teacher, he was also half-believing and half-doubting about the affairs of ghosts and gods. Moreover, the Holy Mother Temple in our hometown was indeed effective, and from childhood to adulthood, everyone had heard stories of the Holy Mother saving people, so after thinking for a moment, my uncle felt that what I said made sense and nodded in agreement.

  I grasped the talisman, imitating my master's gesture, pinching it between my right thumb and index finger. Silently reciting in my heart: "The Great Supreme Elder Lord, urgently as if commanding! Drive out ghosts and evil spirits, if you dare not obey, heaven will punish and earth will destroy, quickly!" Immediately after, the talisman in my hand suddenly self-ignited with a "whoosh" sound, turning into ashes in an instant. My uncle had already prepared a bowl of clear water, and as the talisman turned to ash and fell into the water, it transformed into sparkling dots of light, rather than dull black dust.

  My uncle looked at me strangely, not knowing how the talisman had ended up in my hands and why it was burning on its own. This was indeed a very strange thing. I only explained to my uncle that the talisman had been enchanted by the heavenly master of the temple, saying that as soon as it saw someone possessed by a ghost, it would naturally burn.

  The old aunt sat in a wheelchair, staring blankly out the window. I saw a ghost on her back, baring its teeth and grinning. My uncle fed her holy water with a spoon, and as she drank it, the ghost's body slowly emitted white smoke. The ghost looked terrified, and once my aunt finished drinking the holy water, it completely disappeared.

  "Husband, I'm hungry..." Big sister moved her lips and said three words, then got up from the wheelchair, swayed a few steps to the table, picked up a piece of bread and a cup of milk, and started eating greedily.

  "Auntie was instantly overjoyed and thanked me a thousand times, 'Fei Fei, Auntie really doesn't know how to thank you, your elder sister didn't raise you in vain, you've truly saved our whole family! You have no idea what your elder sister is like, I almost went crazy!"

  "Ah, Uncle, it's okay, I also asked the temple's master and he said this method can cure Auntie's illness. Once Auntie is better, we'll go to the temple to thank the Holy Mother!" I continued to fabricate my lie, not wanting Uncle and Auntie to know that I was the one who cured her.

  My aunt was eating, saw me and my uncle chatting, smiled and said to me: "Feifei, Aunt wants to die for you, after I get out of the hospital, come to Aunt's house to play, Aunt will cook delicious food for you."

  I nodded continuously, and this matter finally made me believe that people will not get sick for no reason, and I also believed what the master said, that I have three disasters and six difficulties. When I returned home, I studied those two books more carefully.