Chapter Thirty: Lost Soul

  Entering the ward, the situation was indeed no different from the last time Su Tong came. Seven children lay on seven beds, their breathing so weak that it was almost imperceptible. At first glance, they looked like seven wooden puppets.

  Tang Wei walked in, stood beside the bed, slightly bent down, and carefully examined the child on the bed. The department director was also not very reassured at first, and followed closely behind. Su Tong asked some experts when they would come to diagnose, whether there were any new guesses or inferences about this kind of problem, and so on. The department director saw that Tang Wei only took a look, his behavior was still very proper and cautious, and didn't do anything else, gradually becoming reassured, and stopped following him, standing aside and communicating with Su Tong. Su Tong deliberately stood in the position facing away from the door of the ward, letting the department director stand opposite himself, so that he could use his peripheral vision to glance at Tang Wei's every move, while also helping him stay within the department director's blind spot, making it convenient for him to take action.

  Tang Ao carefully stretched out his hand and used his fingers to probe the breathing of several children, finding that their breathing was very weak. The air they exhaled was almost imperceptible to the touch, and the temperature was hardly detectable. Although the sunlight in the ward was sufficient, the room temperature remained low, which was abnormal for this season and time. Taking advantage of Su Tong's conversation with the department head, Tang Ao chose a location farthest from them, pulled out a talisman from his pocket, placed it between his middle finger and index finger, and gently pressed it onto the forehead of one of the children. He closed his eyes slightly, moved his lips to recite an incantation, but the child showed no reaction, and the talisman in his hand did not change either. Tang Ao furrowed his brow, put the talisman back into his pocket, and pulled out another one from a different pocket. This time, he used it on himself, placing the talisman between his eyebrows, reciting an incantation, and feeling a warm energy surge into his forehead. After opening his eyes again, his vision became clearer. He carefully examined the children once more before nonchalantly standing beside Su Tong.

  Su Tong saw him come back, knew he should have already seen it, and didn't say much more. He thanked the department head again, and the two of them left the ward, went downstairs to drive away from the hospital, and headed straight for Changqing Mountain.

  "Do you see the problem?" Su Tong asked Tang Hao with some tension, the condition of those children really made people feel worried, from her own experience, she now believed that the abnormal behavior of those children was absolutely not just a simple illness, there must be something behind it that couldn't be explained by common sense.

  Tang Ao nodded, driving while saying: "The reason those children had low body temperature, slow breathing, and were unconscious was mainly because their souls were incomplete. At first, I thought they might have been frightened, so their spirits went out of their bodies. That kind of situation I've seen before, so I used the symbols I prepared in advance to try to summon their souls back, but there was no reaction at all. When I say no reaction, it's true that there wasn't even a slight response. I couldn't even sense where their souls were. Later, I changed my strategy and used another symbol to enhance my own spiritual awareness. I discovered that these children not only had incomplete souls, but also had their 'orifices' sealed off. You know how when we're born, there's a spot on the top of our heads called the fontanelle that isn't fully closed? As we grow up, it gradually closes completely. That's why older people often say that babies can see things before their fontanelle is closed that adults can't see. This saying isn't entirely unfounded - the fontanelle is actually what I call an 'orifice'. When our spirits leave our bodies through this orifice, it's called 'soul loss'. Most of the time, unless you're a highly cultivated person, it's very dangerous. What's special about these children is that not only can't I sense where their lost souls are, but also their orifices have been sealed off. This means that even if we find the part of their soul that they lost and bring it back to their bodies, it still can't return."

  "What part of their lost souls are these few children?" Su Tong asked worriedly.

  "This explanation might be a bit complicated, I'll try to put it in simple terms," Tang Ao thought for a moment before explaining, "Humans have three souls and seven spirits. The three souls are the heavenly soul, earthly soul, and human soul, also known as the yuan shen, yang shen, and yin shen. These names vary, but they represent the source of our existence and consciousness. Among them, the heavenly soul determines our consciousness, the earthly soul determines good and evil, shame and honor, while the human soul directly determines life. The seven spirits are related to the functioning of various body parts and sensory abilities. Those children have lost all their seven spirits and two souls, namely the heavenly soul and earthly soul, or yuan shen and yang shen, leaving only the human soul behind, which is why they still breathe but have no consciousness. This situation is very dangerous. If we can't quickly restore their other two souls and seven spirits, with time, the human soul will slowly disappear, and by then, it'll be too late to save them."

  "But why would their door be sealed, I mean, what kind of person can do such a thing?" Su Tong didn't expect that the seven children's encounter was indeed related to the paranormal event, and it was so urgent.

  "I feel that there is a yin energy swirling around their entrance, I'm afraid the mastermind behind this matter is just like the one you encountered, it's not human at all." Tang Ao replied.

  Su Tong swallowed hard: "Wasn't it just now that you didn't find it inconvenient to help them pull out the yin energy that blocked their orifices? Earlier, the black handprint on my ankle was particularly painful, and you said it was yin energy too, but you helped me pull it out easily."

  "I can do it, but I currently cannot do so." Tang Ao shook his head, "Have you thought about it? Seven people are left with only their living souls, lacking two souls and seven spirits in their physical bodies, in the hospital. For those stubborn ghosts who refuse to enter reincarnation, what does this mean? The hospital doesn't understand these things and won't take precautions. We can't always be there guarding them either. If I were to remove the yin energy, it would be equivalent to opening the door wide open for those children. During this time, if they are possessed by other spirits, it will only cause more trouble. It's better to seal it and leave it sealed. We still haven't found their souls, have we? Let's find them first, then help them drive out the yin energy when their souls return to their bodies, and they'll wake up."

  "Do you think the two souls and seven spirits of these seven people have something to do with that deserted mansion on Evergreen Mountain?" Su Tong recalled the scene near the deserted mansion when he first went to Evergreen Mountain, where not a single blade of grass grew, and felt a chill run down his spine.

  Tang Ao nodded: "It should be, those few children were found by someone there, you went to investigate the matter and ended up getting involved with evil spirits too. This is no longer a coincidence. That old mansion must be strange, although I haven't been there before, just listening to you say that the house was built in a shaded area of the mountain, completely out of sunlight, already feels off. Houses that never see sunlight often have heavy yin energy and are prone to breeding evil spirits. Even if nothing happens temporarily, people living inside for too long can easily develop physical problems. Normally speaking, houses shouldn't be built there, choosing such a location is strange in itself."

  "I heard that place used to be an orphanage before liberation. Later, due to the war, everyone inside scattered and it was abandoned there." Su Tong told Tang Ao about what he had previously learned.

  "It can't be that simple to have so many problems, I hope I'm wrong, it would be easier for us if that's the case." Tang Ao sighed and said this, but in his heart, he was very clear that the situation they were about to face wouldn't be too optimistic.

  Two people drove to the foot of the mountain, and after parking the car, they hadn't gotten out yet when they saw dark clouds gathering on the horizon. The sky suddenly turned dark, and flashes of lightning could be seen in the distant black clouds. Tang Ao hastily stopped Su Tong from getting out of the car, and the two sat inside waiting. In less than a minute or two, it started pouring heavily outside, with raindrops as big as beans pounding against the windshield. Lightning illuminated the darkness outside again and again, and thunder rumbled loudly. Su Tong couldn't help but feel grateful that they had arrived just in time. If they had arrived a little earlier, they would probably be halfway up the mountain by now. This sudden downpour was so fierce that if they were caught outside, they wouldn't even have anywhere to hide, not to mention how dangerous it is to be in a dense forest during a lightning storm.

  Two people sat in the narrow car, quietly watching the stormy weather outside, with an inexplicable atmosphere. Su Tong's mind was still on the recent strange events, she thought and thought, but always felt that something was off, so she turned to Tang Xiao and said: "Why don't you just drop this matter?"

  "What's wrong? Why did you suddenly say that?" Tang Ao was somewhat surprised, not knowing why Su Tong would be silent for a while and then suddenly come out with such a sentence.

  Su Tong furrowed his brow and shook his head: "I was just thinking about how to solve the problem, deal with that little devil at home. When I suddenly found out you had knowledge and skills in this area, it was like grabbing a lifeline. At that time, nothing else mattered. But now that I've calmed down and thought about what you said earlier, I suddenly feel like I've been too rash. No matter how talented you are, you only have intuition and some practical skills, and this whole thing has nothing to do with you from start to finish. I shouldn't be so selfish as to drag you into this and let you take such a big risk to help me solve the problem."

  Tang Ao heard that she was worried about this matter, and slightly let out a breath of relief. He countered: "What else can I do? If you want me to withdraw and not interfere with this matter, what will you do? How are you going to deal with the one at home?"

  "I... " Su Tong bit his lip, "I have five days off, I can go to those famous temples or Taoist temples and ask the monks or Taoist priests with high cultivation if they can help me."

  Tang Ao sighed, shook his head and said helplessly: "Do you think all monks and Taoist priests can drive out evil spirits and catch ghosts? Let me tell you this, some monks and Taoist priests do have the ability to exorcise evil spirits, but they are usually recluses or wandering monks who won't be found in those famous temples and Taoist monasteries. Think about it, those well-known temples and monasteries you mentioned, they're always bustling with activity, many followers, and a large number of monks and priests inside. Such famous temples and monasteries are usually filled with yang energy and positive energy, evil spirits and ghosts wouldn't dare to approach them. As a result, the monks and Taoist priests who cultivate in those temples and monasteries may have done many good deeds and have high cultivation levels, but they're skilled in things like helping souls ascend, praying for blessings, and divination, not actually dealing with evil spirits and ghosts. How can you expect them to help you?"

  "That... even the hermit who wanders around can't be found..." Su Tong heard Tang Ao's words and also became worried, "But if even the high-ranking monks and Taoist priests may not be able to handle it, wouldn't sending you be even more dangerous?"

  Tang Ao looked at her and smiled: "That's right, no wonder you're so worried. I haven't had a chance to tell you about my little workshop and how it managed to stay open until now."

  Su Tong looked at him with some confusion, and suddenly brought up this topic at this time. It was clear that the operation of Tang Ao's home design studio must have something to do with his talent, so she listened attentively, indicating that he should tell her more about it.

  Tang Ao said: "I told you, I had a serious illness and almost died. After that, I miraculously recovered, but many things before that are not very clear to me now. Right? Now I only remember that after graduating from college, I partnered with a classmate to open a small studio, which was actually just taking on some small projects that big companies didn't want to do. It was originally in a state of limbo, and then I got sick halfway through. After recovering, I gained some things but lost others. What I gained was the skills my classmate called 'unorthodox', and what I lost was my original design inspiration. After recovering, I suddenly had no concept of real home design at all. Because of this, my classmate quit and went to a large home furnishings company as a designer, leaving me alone, not knowing what to do. At that time, something completely changed my life afterwards and saved my struggling studio."