Chapter Sixteen: Entering the Cycle of Rebirth (Four)

  Along the way, they met two more ghosts, fortunately, they should be from the Zhao family and didn't give Tianqi too much trouble. They finally arrived in front of the tomb they were looking for.

  The tomb was very small, but there was no weeds on it, and it looked like someone came to sweep the grave often. Tian Qi followed Zhao Lao Ye Zi's instructions, took out the belly wrap, and put it in front of the "door" of the tomb.

  This "gate" is something that people who have been to rural areas should know, it's usually just a few bricks arranged like a "gate", this is where the deceased enters and exits in their daily life, during festivals and holidays incense is also burned in front of the "gate".

  Buried inside must be a child, but Old Man Zhao didn't tell him who it was or what relationship they had, only saying it was a seven- or eight-year-old little girl, and telling Tian Qi not to make a mistake.

  "Has she gone out to play and not come back yet?" The belly had been placed in front of the grave for a while, but there was still no sign of the little girl. Tian Qi thought that since this was a "door", it's possible that the little girl would go out to play or visit someone's home at night, who knows?

  Of course, this is the extent of Tian Qi's understanding in this area, and it's not much, just a rough idea. Although there's some truth to it, it's not entirely accurate. Even if it were possible, it wouldn't be easy for the deceased to come out, as it depends on various factors such as the time of death, age, and whether they have living relatives. If they could enter and exit at will, wandering around freely, the world would already be in chaos. But that's a topic for later.

  "Are you looking for me?" A small 'girl's voice sounded from behind Tian Qi.

  "Who are you?" This was the first ghost that Tian Qi met tonight who could speak normally. Fortunately, this ghost was also the little girl he was looking for tonight. Tian Qi noticed that the little girl had a jade pendant around her neck, but it wasn't a real object. The real thing should still be in the grave mound.

  Tian Qi picked up the red belly warmer, and the little girl looked like she really liked it. It seems that this exchange is possible.

  But what disappointed Tian Qi was that although the 'girl' liked the red bellyband, she still didn't want to give up the 'jade' pendant.

  "Uncle just borrowed it for use, it's for saving people, and when he's done using it, he'll return it to you, okay?" Tian Qi could only make further concessions. Old Man Zhao said that with this little 'girl', unless she herself was willing to take out the jade pendant, they absolutely couldn't force her.

  The little girl finally agreed, pointing with her small hand to the top of the mound, and Tian Qi knew that was where Yu Pei should be. Old Man Zhao had told him on their way here.

  Because people often come to loosen the soil and remove weeds, the soil is very loose. The surface layer should be newly filled soil. The "jade" pendant was also inside for a long time. Tian Qi started digging from the top of the mound, trying not to damage it as much as possible, and dug very deep before finding the "jade" pendant.

  "Uncle, can I give you a kiss?" The little 'girl' looked very happy wearing the red bellyband.

  "Of course, Tian Qi squatted down and brought his face to the front of the little 'girl'," although this was a ghost, after all it was just a 7 or 8 year old child, and apart from having no blood color on its face, overall it was still quite cute, at that time Tian Qi didn't think much.

  Just as the little girl's lips touched Tianqi's face, he felt the red string hanging from his neck slip down.

  The red string broke, this was Tian Qi's last memory, and then he fainted on the spot.

  "Oh no, son, go save him!" Originally sitting on the kang smoking, Mr. Zhao's face suddenly changed color. His son had been in his grandfather's earth house since he sent Tianqi to his ancestral grave and immediately grabbed a tool to rush to the ancestral grave upon hearing this.

  Tian Qi had a dream in his daze, dreaming that Old Man Zhao puffed on his large pipe and walked up to him, "Young man, you've wasted three days of my time!"

  "What?" Zhao Lao Ye's words left Tian Qi stunned, he didn't know how he had delayed the old man for three days. However, today Zhao Lao Ye wore a black outfit that seemed to be newly made, making him look even more "dashing". Tian Qi thought to himself that if he wore gray or white clothes, he would look even more "dashing".

  As for Tian Qi's question, Old Man Zhao didn't answer him, but instead smiled and turned around to leave.

  "Old man!" Tian Qi thought of chasing after him, he still wanted to ask how that filial piety was obtained.

  However, no matter how hard he ran, he couldn't catch up. The old man was walking slowly and leisurely, but the more he chased, the farther away he got. Suddenly, his foot slipped and he fell down.

  "Ah!" Tian Qi exclaimed, then opened his eyes to find himself lying in the Zhao family's house, still in the same room he was initially assigned.

  "It was just a dream," Tian Qi sat up from the 'bed', his head still feeling dizzy, and suddenly a sorrowful cry sent shivers down his spine.

  "Father!" The voice seemed to come from Zhao's old earth house.

  "Really?" Tian Qi thought of something and realized that the clothes Old Zhao was wearing in his dream were indeed new, but they looked more like mourning attire.

  A sense of unease in his heart, Tian Qi hurried downstairs, and Zhao Lao's earth house was already crowded with people, at least thirty or more, the earth house was still echoing with crying sounds, every face was filled with sorrow.

  "Are you awake?" Tian Qi walked into the inner room, Zhao Lao Ye Zi's eldest son saw him, and Zhao Lao Ye Zi was lying on the kang, wearing a longevity robe, which was exactly what Tian Qi had seen in his dream.

  "My father just passed away, he said that after he passes away you will wake up, don't worry about the longevity clothes, my father has already handed them over, after the funeral I will give you my longevity clothes," Zhao old man's eldest son said.

  Tian Qi wanted to ask what happened that night when he fainted in the tomb, and how he was rescued, but looking at the situation, it wasn't the right time. Tian Qi nodded and silently stood aside.

  The death of a rural person is a big deal, and there are many taboos to follow, especially for someone like Old Man Zhao who is very old and has prestige in the village.

  Before and after handing over the longevity clothes to Tianqi's hands, a total of ten days passed. During these ten days, Tianqi also learned many things.

  The little girl wearing the 'jade' pendant was actually Zhao Lao's prematurely deceased child, and he had also calculated his own time of death, which is why he said that both things could be obtained when Tian Qi came.

  Since ancient times, people who are good at divination have always had a hard time ending well. Divination is a loss of heavenly machinery, revealing the secrets of heaven, and must be punished. Some are physically disabled, deaf or dumb, some are lonely for life, cutting off their sons and grandsons, while Mr. Zhao's punishment was that premature child.

  As for why he fainted after being kissed by the little girl, Tian Qi never found out the answer. Zhao's eldest son didn't have his father's ability and his father didn't tell him before he left.

  No matter if it was a coincidence or fate, Old Man Zhao helped him out greatly this time, allowing an outsider to dig his own "daughter's" grave, which is not something that ordinary people can do. To show his gratitude, Tian Qi wanted to leave 50,000 yuan behind, which is not a small amount in the countryside here, but Old Man Zhao's son and daughter-in-law refused to accept it no matter what.

  Tian Qi quietly left one morning, leaving the money in the room. He took the 'jade' pendant and mourning clothes required for the ritual and boarded the return car.

  The preparation for the revenge is almost complete, as it mainly involves a production process that follows a pattern. It only cost a few thousand yuan. The most expensive part was the fat guy's side, which spent 200,000 yuan on gifts and labor costs through connections.

  One million is still a lot, although Tian Qi must have skimmed off some profits from it. He didn't pursue the matter further, to be honest, he still felt a bit guilty towards Zhang Fei. If he hadn't followed them to start this ghost-catching company, he wouldn't have been plotted against, his good company wouldn't have gone bankrupt, and he wouldn't have had that car accident that almost cost him his life.

  The three of them had all completed their tasks, and now it was just a matter of waiting for Director Chen's news. Tianqi called to ask about it, and Chen Yu replied that it would be soon, but it wasn't finalized yet, so they still had to wait a bit longer.

  More than half of the two-month period has passed now.

  During the waiting time, there were also customers who came to find them. Although they all wanted to take it on, Tianqi still rejected most of them and only accepted two non-urgent orders, which should not be too difficult to handle. After completing this ritual, it's done.

  Tian Qi and Qiu Shen are people who can stay put, even when writing doctoral theses, they would spend several consecutive days in the library. However, Fatzi couldn't stay still, being greedy for wealth and beauty, he definitely wouldn't be able to quit this lifetime. One day, he couldn't help himself and went to ask Liu in the group chat again, and even brought a girl back to the company.

  Tian Qi scolded Pao Zi after the fact, saying that he had lent out more than half of his luck this year and if he went to such a place again, he might accidentally lose his life.

  A person who hasn't gone through the 'ghost gate' can't truly fear death. Fatso has been through it, so now he cherishes his life more than anyone else. As soon as he hears about this danger, Fatso immediately locks himself in and doesn't go out, deletes the contact information of some girls he was chatting with every day on his phone, and almost starts eating vegetarian food and burning incense to worship Buddha every day.

  Unexpectedly, the fat man's exaggerated action reminded Tianqi that although it was still uncertain whether the ceremony could proceed normally, some necessary preparations should be made. First of all, starting from diet. No matter how the fat man opposed, Tianqi started to eat vegetarian food for three meals a day.

  Seven days before two months, Chen Yu came to the Ghost Catching Company with twenty-three tickets and booked a plane to Yunnan.

  No matter the number of people or the scale and significance of the ceremony itself, this is the largest single order since the establishment of the Ghost Catching Company. This will be a test for Tian Qi San Ren, as well as a touchstone to verify their level of growth.

  However, even if they had attached enough importance to the ritual and made as much preparation as possible, the difficulty of the ritual itself still exceeded their imagination. To defy the heavens, one needs not only skill and ability but also has to pay a corresponding price, and this price may be more than one person's life. Tian Qi would experience this many times in his future career of catching ghosts.