Chapter Fifteen Entering the Cycle of Rebirth for the Third Time

  Mr. Zhao let Tianqi live in his son's house, and the old man's son was very hospitable, and his daughter-in-law arranged a room for Tianqi.

  The old man instructed him to go find him after dinner.

  Taking advantage of this opportunity, Tianqi also made a phone call to Paozi, asking about the progress and sharing his own situation. It turned out that Tianqi had met an eccentric person, and both things could be found, which made him lament the unfairness of fate. The progress on his side was not very smooth, and he didn't know if it was because the bad luck from before hadn't dissipated yet.

  For the fat guy, Tian Qi can only ask questions now and can't help much. He has to finish his part as soon as possible. He didn't come over until 3 pm in the afternoon, and after chatting with the old man for a while and finishing the phone call with the fat guy, it's already 4:30 pm. His room is upstairs, and Zhao's daughter-in-law told him that she would go down to eat at 5 o'clock and wouldn't come up to call him again, telling him not to be polite.

  Tian Qi opened the package and looked to see if there was anything that could be used tonight, going to the grave without any preparation would not do. However, after rummaging through it, he was very disappointed, never expecting such an encounter this time out, except for a peace charm, there was nothing else that could be of use at this time.

  When the car reaches the mountain, there must be a road. It can only adapt to changing circumstances. If it doesn't work out, just run away. Tian Qi can see ghosts and won't get lost with his eyes closed. He still has some confidence in this regard.

  The dishes were rich, Tian Qi felt a little embarrassed. Although he had lived in the same village many years ago, Tian Qi didn't have any impression of him at all. After dinner, it was already dark outside, and Tian Qi went out to find Mr. Zhao.

  "Was the food okay?" The old man had just finished eating, and the dishes his daughter-in-law had brought over were still on the table, not yet cleared away. His daughter-in-law should be coming to clean up every day. The old man was puffing on his pipe again.

  "Ah, very rich, thank you." In fact, Tian Qi wanted to tell Lao Yezi that smoking after meals is not good for the body, and the saying "a cigarette after a meal is better than an immortal" is unscientific. However, he thought again that Lao Yezi must have had this habit for many years, and his body is still very healthy now. He himself didn't know if he could live to such an old age and still be so healthy.

  "You need to be mentally prepared, if you don't go, there won't be any danger, but you won't get what you want either. But if you do go, it's possible that you might not come back. I'll give you another half hour to think about it, don't rush to answer." The old man said nothing more and waited for Tian Qi's response.

  Going to the cemetery is dangerous, Tian Qi has realized this, but when Mr. Zhao says it, it means something different. He means that danger will definitely be encountered, and whether or not it can be turned into a blessing remains to be seen, possibly one misstep could lead to eternal damnation.

  In half an hour, a lot can be done. During this time, the old man's daughter-in-law came to take away the bowls and chopsticks, and the old man also finished smoking a pack of cigarettes. Tian Qi sat there without speaking, his heart still struggling, even making the worst assumptions. If he really died, what would happen to his parents? What about Yingying? And what about the company? The more he thought, the more chaotic it became, the more he thought, the more he worried.

  "Two more minutes," said the old man as he lit another cigarette.

  There were no clocks or watches in the earthen house, and Tian Qi didn't know how Mr. Zhao knew the time, but he believed that what Mr. Zhao said was definitely correct, and there would only be two minutes left in half an hour.

  "I'm going!" Tian Qi made up his mind in a split second, believing that Wu Tianqi wouldn't die so easily.

  "Good job, and it's worth me helping you this time. Go, open the cabinet and take out the three things inside." Mr. Zhao tossed a key to Tianqi.

  There was an old-fashioned cabinet in the earth house, and Tian Qi opened the lock with a key.

  A red thread, a short black wooden stick, and a red bellyband - that's all there is.

  Tian Qi took out the thing and waited for Mr. Zhao to speak.

  "What is this short wooden thing?" the old man asked Tian Qi.

  "It's a bit like charcoal," Tian Qi could only think of this, because the wood was very much like the color that had been smoked by fire for a long time.

  "It's almost the same, but this isn't for cooking, it's been used for a funeral procession."

  Rural areas now also implement cremation, but in the past they didn't, and it was all about burying the whole body. There will be a cremation ceremony, but it's not burning the deceased person's body, it's burning some items that the deceased used before, along with clothes, paper people, paper horses, paper-made boys and girls, as well as some yellow paper and hell money, which are things for the deceased to use in the underworld.

  These things must be burned clean, and such rituals are generally held in open spaces. During the burning process, sticks need to be used to stir back and forth. After everything is burned clean, the length of the stick will also shrink a lot due to the fire. The stick in front of Tian Qi came from this.

  "You're going to our Zhao family's ancestral tomb. If you meet someone from the Zhao family, they usually won't give you trouble, but there are no guarantees. If you encounter someone who tries to block your way, use this stick to hit them. Wear this red cord around your neck; if it breaks, whether or not you've obtained the jade pendant, you must return immediately."

  "What about this bellyband?" Mr. Zhao said after explaining the use of the club and red rope, and then he stopped talking. Tian Qi thought he had forgotten, this bellyband was not big, it should be for a 7 or 8 year old child.

  "This bellyband is what you want to exchange for a jade pendant. Give her the bellyband and get the jade pendant in return."

  Tian Qi noticed that the old man's gaze at this bellyband was clearly different from his gaze at other things, as if there was a sense of reluctance in it. Could it be that the person who wore the bellyband before had some relationship with the old man?

  The old man said that Tian Qi had to go alone, but he couldn't find the location of the Zhao family's ancestral tomb. The old man asked his son to guide Tian Qi. The Zhao family's ancestral tomb was on a mountain ridge. Because it was dark, it wasn't easy to see clearly, but the densely packed and protruding grave mounds and sparse tombstones still showed that this family had lived here for a long time.

  The old man's son has returned, leaving only Tian Qi alone. The night is quiet, with the occasional sound of crows calling out. Crows are often found near graves, which isn't unusual at all.

  "Cough, cough, cough..." Tian Qi lightly coughed a few times, which was to give the people buried here a warning not to blame him, as this was what Old Master had told him to do.

  The fourth row, the third tombstone from the right, and the small mound behind it on the right is what Tian Qi is looking for.

  Tian Qi carefully navigated through the tomb circle, after all, this was not a regular cemetery, and each tomb was not arranged very neatly, requiring him to wind around.

  Just as Tian Qi was slowly moving forward, he suddenly felt a chill and raised his head to see a figure appear before him.

  Tall and large in stature, with well-developed limbs, his piercing green eyes were fixed intently on Tian Qi, exuding an aura of ferocity that would have been enough to intimidate a living person if he had suddenly appeared before them, let alone the fact that he was not even human.

  "Sorry, sorry, I'll go around," The master in front of him didn't look like a good person at first glance, and he was probably a rascal or a hooligan when he was alive. It's better to avoid such ghosts if possible.

  Just as Tian Qi was about to pass by the other end of the road, the evil god blocked his way again, and he was forced back several times. Tian Qi was also forced into a desperate situation.

  "I also came here to save people, if I disturb you, please forgive me. If there's anything you haven't fulfilled, you can tell me and I'll try my best to help you complete it." Tian Qi had already taken out a black stick from his pocket, this evil spirit was going to block him again, he really prepared to strike with the stick, although the old man had instructed him not to use it unless absolutely necessary, this one strike would likely disperse the soul by 80%.

  Tian Qi's purpose is to help people gather their souls, because it's hard to justify dispersing someone else's soul in a gathering.

  "Ahhh!" The evil spirit, who had been silent all along, let out a strange cry and occasionally lowered its head to look at its own feet.

  Tian Qi only then noticed that he didn't have a tongue and was also missing one foot, it seemed like before his death he had been beaten to death by someone and one of his feet had been amputated.

  "Are you asking me to help you find your foot?" Tian Qi guessed.

  He nodded as expected, and immediately walked down, this is the gesture of leading the way for Tian Qi. Hopefully it won't be too far, Tian Qi touched the red rope hanging from his neck, which was intact and showed no signs of breaking.

  Fortunately, after about ten minutes or so, the tall and imposing evil spirit stopped, its eyes fixed on a nearby grass nest.

  Tian Qi walked over, the grass was a bit deep, and after searching for half a day, he finally found a piece of ankle bone.

  "Is this it?" Tian Qi hesitated for a moment, pulled out some grass and picked up the foot bone. He originally wanted to find a piece of cloth to wrap it in, but found that apart from the red bellyband, there was nothing else on him.

  Rebury the ankle bone in the tomb of the evil spirit, finally sent away this god, Tian Qi broke out a sweat, he brought a small shovel, the old man said it was enough. However, the tomb of this evil spirit must have been neglected for many years, and the soil had begun to petrify, making it difficult to dig, Tian Qi spent half a day's effort.

  The light was too dim, Tian Qi had a flashlight with him, but Mr. Zhao said that as long as they were still in the tomb, they couldn't use it, otherwise it would easily disturb the people resting inside, and if they provoked public anger, it wouldn't be fun at all.

  To avoid mistakes, Tian Qi came back to the entrance again to re-examine, hoping to get it right this time.

  But things often don't go as one wishes, and before he had taken a few steps, Tianqi was caught up by a little girl of seven or eight years old who had set her eyes on the red bellyband around his waist.

  This is neither a fight nor a scolding. Tian Qi has gotten into trouble, and the red bellyband will definitely not be given to her. He still wants to use the bellyband to exchange for a jade pendant.

  He simply pretended not to see, letting the little girl follow him from behind. Tian Qi continued walking forward as usual, but soon he felt that there was an extra shadow behind him. He turned his head and saw an old man with a very large age difference holding the girl's hand and saying something.

  Tian Qi didn't go forward, if there's anything the people resting here would definitely look for him, he doesn't have that much time to give you something to do.

  About five minutes later, the old man glanced at Tian Qi, nodded and pulled the little girl's hand away. Tian Qi also felt relieved, otherwise being followed by a ghost would make anyone feel uneasy.