Chapter Twenty-Four: Captive Soul Ferry

  Exorcism, what a distant word it is. Since Master's passing, I and Brother Fang Qing have never gone down to the mortal world, let alone deal with these things. How did this old man push this "wonderful job" onto me again?

  Zhang Shouren briefly introduced the situation, and Wang Sigou listened with a half-understanding. Later, thinking that since the five rivers had made trouble with monsters, this matter was not trivial, he didn't dare to delay any longer. He got on the carriage with Zhang Shouren and hurriedly rushed towards the village.

  Arrived at the entrance of the village, Zhang's ancestral hall was full, with all the villagers, men and women, young and old, packed in, totaling over 200 people.

  From a distance, he saw an old man sitting in the center of the courtyard. Wang Sigou hurriedly squeezed through the crowd and came to the old man's side.

  Tugging at his clothes, he gave the old man a bow: "Old fellow, it's been many years since we last met, and your body is still so robust."

  The old man looked up at Wang Sigou, smiled awkwardly: "Sigou, I originally promised your master not to mention the affairs of you guys. But now that something has happened in front of my eyes, it's impossible not to mention it." After finishing speaking, he waved his hand and someone brought a chair for Wang Sigou.

  Wang Sigou sat beside the old man without speaking, and the old man continued: "I suppose you also know what's going on. Now that your master is gone, there's no way around it. You'll have to take care of this yourself. You'd better put in some effort, young one."

  Wang Sigou nodded, and after a moment's thought: "To get rid of the harm for my fellow villagers, I have nothing to say. I'm just afraid that I haven't mastered the skills well enough, and I don't have this ability." Then he sighed again: "Ah, if only my brother were here, he would be much better at this than me."

  The old man listened and then glared with his eyes: "Nonsense, if you can't even capture a little monster, are you still a disciple of Liu Mùsēn?" ?? Si Xiao Yin Men 24

  Upon hearing his master's name, Wang Sigou was immediately at a loss for words. A surge of heat rose in his chest, and he thought to himself: It seems that this face-saving effort must be made today, no matter what. Since Master has been brought out by others, I must not lose face for him, no matter what.

  At the thought of this, Wang Sigou involuntarily straightened his back, looked into the old man's eyes and said: "Alright, you don't need to urge me on, just because of what you said, you'd better watch out."

  Having heard this, the old man smiled with satisfaction and patted Wang Sigou's shoulder, saying: "Little rabbit, come on, let's do it again with your uncle."

  The two were in the midst of a heated conversation when a young man dressed in fine clothes walked over. Wang Sigou took one look and recognized him as Zhang Shouyi, the second son of the notorious Zhang family from Changyang City, infamous for being a troublemaker.

  No idea why, but the old man didn't seem to want to see this young guy. As soon as he saw him coming, the old man immediately turned his face away and started puffing on his dry pipe. Zhang Shouyi came up front, saw that his dad was ignoring him, and scratched his head in embarrassment. He gave Wang Sigou a thumbs-up and grinned: "Fourth Brother, you're really something! It's true what they say - 'a real person doesn't show their face, but when they do, it's not the real thing!' I didn't know that besides being a doctor, you also have this skill of subduing demons and catching monsters!"

  Wang Sigou's old face turned red as he listened to him praising himself, and he coughed dryly, "Brother Shouyi is overpraising me, it's not a big deal, I just understand the surface of things."

  Zhang Shouyi pulled up a chair and sat down beside Wang Sigong, grinning: "Fourth brother, don't be modest, before you came just now, the old man told us several people about your situation. We brothers have nothing to say, everything is up to you. If you need someone, there's someone; if you need money, there's money. You just say a word, and I'll take care of it all..."

  Zhang Shouyi wanted to continue speaking, but when he saw his old man glare at him, this kid immediately swallowed back the rest of his words and didn't dare show off anymore.

  Looking at the two of them, Wang Sigou wanted to laugh but felt embarrassed. He thought that the old man's two sons were too different in character. The eldest son, Zhang Shourong, was not like his father at all, steady and mature, with a Confucian demeanor. But this second son was quite the opposite, always acting carelessly, which made him similar to his father, just a scoundrel.

  The old man gave Zhang Shouyi a glance, turned his face and said to Wang Sigou: "I've already told you earlier, now you are the master of our house, everyone in the village listens to your dispatch, what you say is what we do. You shouldn't be too modest, this is a serious matter, serious matters must be handled seriously."

  Wang Sigou smiled and nodded, so the old man called Feng Erpi again to retell what had happened. Wang Sigou listened intently, his heart racing with excitement. After a moment of silence, he turned to the old man and said, "If this kid isn't mistaken, this should be a Soul Ferrying Path!"

  Wang Sigou finished speaking, and the courtyard immediately fell silent. Zhang Shouyi hastily offered Wang Sigou a cigarette and said: "Fourth brother, what is Soul Ferry after all? Tell us about it."

  Wang Sigou sorted out his thoughts and said, "The Soul Ferry, according to the records of the 'Yu Li Bao Chuan', this thing is said to be transformed from those unchaste women who stole men. According to the old rules, these women who did not guard their virtue were to be put in a pig cage and thrown into the river. So when they died, they would have a lot of resentment. If there was a water snake or something that happened to eat their physical body at the moment of their death, then the resentment before their death would attach itself to the snake's body. If the resentment was very heavy, then over time the snake's head would undergo a variation and transform into the appearance of the woman when she was alive. These women were originally *wanton women, so after transforming into a snake demon, they specialized in seducing those lustful men in some small streams and rivers. Once you get close, it will swallow you whole!" Everyone who heard this couldn't help but think of Ma Liu Zi.

  After taking two puffs of smoke, Wang Sigou continued: "Of course, to become a demon, it's not as simple as eating a few people. No matter what, you must first condense a large amount of spiritual energy in your body. The Soul Ferry is no exception. When it was still in its snake form, it had to form a demon pill in its body. At this time, the demon pill and the Dan School's concept of Dan Tai are the same, both being illusory pills without physical form. Only after cultivating the illusory pill can this snake be called a spirit. Once it becomes a spirit, it will face two choices: one is to cultivate its spirit properly, and the other is to become cruel and ruthless, turning into a demon!"

  Wang Sigou said, pausing for a moment, puffing on his cigarette and furrowing his brow: "In my estimation, this thing is very likely to have come from the Nurul Tiger Mountain!" ?? Si Xiao Yin Men 24

  Several people were stunned, the old men didn't understand, so they let Wang Sigou explain to them. Wang Sigou thought for a moment: "You see, our five river waters are diverted from the upper reaches of the Old Ha River, and the diversion point is at the junction of the Old Ha River and the Daling River, where the Nurhul Mountain is located. To condense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, you must be in a treasure land on the wind-water bureau, this kind of treasure land that steals the creation of heaven and earth, our generation is not many. This Nurhul Mountain is considered one of the top ones. In Feng Shui studies, Nurhul Mountain is a relatively special large-scale wind-water bureau, called Sanlong Jibao. Nurhul Mountain dominates one side, just like a treasure eye, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, gathering the essence of rivers and seas. The three sides of the river are like three green dragons, day and night, constantly spitting out essence towards Nurhul Mountain. This place is a treasure land for absorbing spirits and gathering energies, fully satisfying all the conditions that monsters need."

  Several people listened and felt their horizons broadened, really didn't think there were so many subtleties inside.

  Zhang Shouren's heart skipped a beat, and he asked Wang Sigou, "Mr. Wang, this is such a good place, what do you think if we bury someone here?"

  Wang Sigou smiled slightly: "If you want to bury someone, you must first break the situation. If you don't break the situation, you will surely bring disaster to your children and grandchildren!"

  Several people who heard this felt puzzled, such a good Feng Shui place, how can burying someone bring disaster to their descendants?

  Wang Sigou explained to them: "The three dragons gathering treasures is a treasure land, but what they gather is the spiritual energy of rivers and streams. In terms of the five elements, fire belongs to yang and water belongs to yin. The spiritual energy of Nurul Tiger Mountain is too heavy with yin energy, or it can be said that it's too humid, this environment is suitable for the growth of all things, but it's not suitable for burial. If you want to bury someone, you must choose a high slope facing the sun, and set up an array to gather yang energy and an array to ward off evil spirits, to filter out and eliminate yin energy. If you don't do this, the person buried will absorb spiritual energy with yin humidity for many years, and will surely become a zombie! In the five elements destiny, it will bring disaster to future generations!"

  Zhang Shouren had originally thought that after his father's hundredth birthday, if he could be buried in such a good Fengshui treasure land, it would be a wonderful thing. Now, after hearing this, it's like being doused with cold water. Just thinking about the old man turning into a zombie with a green face and fangs makes him want to cry and laugh at the same time, and he immediately gave up on the idea.

  The old man burst out laughing and patted Wang Sigou's shoulder, saying to the crowd with a smug expression: "How about that? A master can tell by just stretching out his hand. Are you all stunned?"

  Everyone saw that Wang Sigou's words were reasonable, and suddenly a big stone fell to the ground in their hearts. It was as if they had been given a strong heart stimulant, and everyone immediately felt like they had regained their composure. But when this old man chimed in, everyone almost burst out laughing, thinking: What does it have to do with you whether he has any skills or not?

  Wang Sigou originally wanted to say a few polite words, but suddenly felt that the atmosphere around him was a bit strange. He looked up and saw that all around him was a sea of black, with over 200 people and more than 400 eyes staring straight at him.

  Wang Sigou's palms were sweating at the time. In his heart, he said: Since birth, I have never been taken seriously by anyone. To say nothing of it, but it really made him a little excited.

  Here is the translation:

  Tension begets tension, and some words must still be said on this occasion. Wang Sigou stood up, made a fist towards all directions: "Fellow villagers, I, Wang Sigou, have learned some methods to deal with monsters in my younger years, and I roughly understand some superficial knowledge. Since this old man has brought me out, I can only take on this task with a hard head. I hope everyone can work together and cooperate. This vengeful spirit is not that formidable, as the saying goes, 'it's up to people to make it happen.' As long as we work together, we will definitely be able to eliminate it. That thing won't easily come to our village to cause trouble, so please don't worry and go back to your daily lives. Try not to go near the riverbank if possible. We'll discuss a strategy among ourselves, and once we have an idea, we'll notify everyone immediately, and then you can all disperse." Although Wang Sigou's words were somewhat scattered, they did manage to boost people's morale at this critical moment.

  Then these two hundred people started making a racket again, saying that they would let him take charge boldly and confidently, and everyone would listen to him. They said that our village didn't have any cowards, everyone was a good fellow. Anyway, after waiting for a while, it was all just noise and shouting, the commotion was unbearable.

  This made the old man angry again, and he suddenly slammed his tobacco pouch on the bench, glared at them and scolded: "What the hell are you all yelling about! No discipline at all! Get out of here!"

  Like this, more than 200 "good men" in the whole village scattered like birds and beasts under the threat of a dry old man!