Chapter Forty-Seven: Long Sui

  "It's really gone, no one has seen it. Originally, Little Sanzi said that after he died, he would hold onto this small coffin until I took it out and handed it over to you. But just now, when you saw him, there was nothing in his hands or on his body. I've also asked everyone else, but no one has seen it." Old Jia said anxiously.

  Rui Xin, who had been quietly listening, spoke up: "Could it be those lonely ghosts and wild devils from tonight?"

  "What lonely soul and wild ghost? What lonely soul and wild ghost?" Old Chui asked.

  Hong Jun simply told Lao Qi about what happened in the cemetery that night, leaving him stunned.

  "It turns out that there is indeed a guardian deity for this saying. I thought Master Zu was just joking." Old Jia muttered to himself.

  "Uncle, am I really Huā Qíng?" Hong Jun asked coldly, he anxiously wanted to verify his own identity.

  Lao Dai was taken aback for a moment: "Yes, I and your Third Uncle were originally going to tell you about this matter. You are indeed a reincarnation of emotions, but not a complete soul reincarnation, just a heart and soul reincarnation. You have the power of law, but can't use it."

  "Oh." Hong Jun nodded. He proved himself to be a good guesser and also knew what Lao Jiao Tou and Third Uncle wanted to tell him, which was this matter, he figured out a few small doubts.

  "Your Third Uncle shouldn't have passed away tonight, he said a few days ago that it should be tomorrow at noon, so we were going to tell you everything in the morning. But how did he leave six hours early?" Old Qi scratched his head and pondered.

  "Is it really related to the lonely souls and wild ghosts in the cemetery?" Hong Jun asked.

  "I don't know, but in all these years of being a Guardian, it's the first time I've seen a lonely spirit dare to barge into someone else's ancestral tomb, and so many at that. We can't even chase them away." A clear voice rang out above his head, startling Old Di into falling onto the ground with a thud.

  Hong Jun raised his head and saw the Golden Horned Twin Messengers floating above him.

  "How did you guys follow us here? Aren't you afraid of scaring the people around here?" Hong Jun frowned.

  "Don't worry, we're ghost messengers. Unless we want him to see us, ordinary people can't see us. How could they be scared?" Ping An said.

  "You two, are you the Guardians?" Old Zhai's eyes were fixed on the two "people" floating in mid-air, his face changing color several times. He found that Hong Jun and Rui Xin not only didn't seem afraid but also seemed to be familiar with them, which made him feel more courageous.

  Old Jiazi's head was asked, and Jin Hong's double flew down to the ground. Ping An rolled his eyes: "How, little servant, doesn't it look like?"

  Little kid. Hong Jun almost burst out laughing, and then he understood why Ping An called Lao Dui Tou like that. Jin Hong Shuang had been guarding the Hong family for over 300 years, if ghosts have ages, they must be at least over 300 years old now. The 70-year-old Lao Dui Tou, in front of them two, wasn't a little kid or what? Looking at Lao Dui Tou's embarrassed face, if it weren't for San Shu's corpse being there, Hong Jun would have burst out laughing already.

  Outside, the men and women of the Hong family came one after another. The Hong family was a big clan in the village, and within an hour, the courtyard was filled with people. The elderly were busy with the funeral arrangements, while the younger generation and the women began to cry. From time to time, someone would come in to pay their respects, and Hong Jun would kneel down to return the courtesy. Indeed, as Ping An had said, no one could see them.

  Lao Dai Tou searched many times but finally gave up. The small coffin mysteriously disappeared like that.

  Three people, two ghosts whispering, can't figure out why. In the end, they got tired of thinking and didn't think anymore.

  Soldiers come to block, water comes to cover the soil. Hong Jun told himself. Although he knew he was a fake, he also knew that he had no magical powers at all now. If the demon spirit really appeared, it was still a question whether he could escape or not. What's the point of finding a coffin with great difficulty?

  Lao Jiezi bid farewell and returned home. He knew that he couldn't stop anything from happening with his own strength. Moreover, his divination skills had no effect on the affairs of gods and ghosts.

  "I'll go back and ask our master if there's a better way." He said as he was about to leave.

  "Shizu?" Hong Jun was stunned for a moment, wanting to ask, but Lao Diao had already walked out of the house. A man in his seventies, wouldn't his shizu be over a hundred years old?

  "From now on, we'll be keeping an eye on you." Ping An suddenly said, with only two people and two ghosts left in the room.

  "What?" Hong Jun thought he had misheard.

  "I'm saying that from now on, we'll be following you wherever you go. We want to be your permanent attendants and listen to your commands at all times." Ping An repeated.

  "But you're following me, what if something happens to this family? You are the guardians of the family after all." Hong Jun asked.

  Ji Xiang smiled: "Don't worry, we've already filed a report with the Netherworld. Within three days, a new Guardian Envoy will take office. In human terms, we've already resigned."

  Resign? Hong Jun laughed. The emotional underworld also thrives on this set.

  "You're ghosts, I'm human, you follow me, is that right?" He really didn't want these aliens to follow him around. If they did, how could he get close to Rui Xin in the future? Moreover, many books said that having ghosts follow you for a long time would harm your physical health, and if things went wrong, it might even cost you your life.

  "Don't worry, we'll avoid you when you're being affectionate with your Xiner." Ping An joked, completely disregarding the fact that they were in front of Third Uncle's spirit.

  "You let us two follow you, maybe it will be helpful to you. You currently have no power of law, and there is a female ghost who wants to secretly calculate you, bringing us along, at the critical moment there will be someone to help." Ji Xiang said.

  "This is great," Hong Jun said to himself. "There are actually two ghostly servants who want to follow me, and that's good, I was a bit lazy anyway, so it's perfect to have them help with errands and tasks. I've heard ghosts don't sleep, so at night they can take turns keeping watch, just in case that female ghost tries to sneak up on me. This past month has been nerve-wracking, even when I'm sleeping, I keep one eye open."

  However, they are ghosts and must be given some rules.

  "Alright, but let's set three rules." Hong Jun nodded his head and began to lay down the law for them...

  Jin Hong Shuang began to follow him from then on, and it turned out that the ghost was not afraid of daytime, just like humans dare to come out at night. In their world, daytime is just a swap with human nighttime.

  Lao Diaotou really had a master ancestor. During the funeral, Jixiang told Hong Jun that the master ancestor was like a great elder of Taoism, over 100 years old, with white eyebrows and beard, secretly arranged by Lao Diaotou to live in seclusion in a mountain cave.

  Bigu Hongjun is known. The "Bigu technique" originated in the pre-Qin period, and the "Dadai Li Ji - Yi Benming" which collects the pre-Qin and Han ritual theory says: "Those who eat meat are brave and fierce, those who eat grains are wise and clever, those who eat air are divine and long-lived, and those who do not eat are immortal." This is the earliest theoretical basis for Bigu technique. The "Renjian" records that during the Spring and Autumn period, a man from Lu named Shan Bao avoided the world and lived in deep mountains, drinking creek water, "not wearing silk or hemp, not eating grains, and at the age of 70, still having the complexion of a child." The silk book unearthed from the Han tomb of Mawangdui in Changsha has a chapter called "Ququ Shiqi" which is the earliest existing work on Bigu technique. On January 7th, 1988, the People's Daily reported on page 3 with the title "Macheng Farmer's Daughter Has Not Eaten Grains for Ten Years and Is Still Healthy", telling the story of a 25-year-old girl from Macheng City in Hubei Province named Xiong Zaiding who fell ill at the age of 15 and was on the brink of death, but after recovering did not eat or drink anything. Astonishingly, eight years later she could walk independently, talk and laugh freely, and do some household chores.

  "We siblings have paid our respects to him before. The old man has some skills. In their Taoist sect, he is the only one left of his generation." Ji Xiang said.

  "Why did he hide?" Hong Jun asked.

  Ji Xiang smiled and said, "The old man seems to have been born with a disability. His face is truly more terrifying than a ghost's. The first time we went there, we were almost scared off by his appearance. If he didn't hide himself, I reckon anyone who saw him would think he was a monster."

  "Isn't Bigu just about not eating or drinking? Why is cultivation still needed?" Hong Jun asked.

  "It's not that easy to achieve Bigu, otherwise everyone would be able to do it. It must be accompanied by Taoist numerology for cultivation, but as for how to cultivate, I don't care, so I don't know the specifics." Jixiang said, "We ghosts don't need to waste our energy on cultivation anyway."

  "When a person dies, they become a ghost, and the ghost becomes a person again, cycling back and forth. What's the point of this old man being so stubborn, insisting on avoiding grains to prolong his own life?" Hong Jun felt that the old man was a bit foolish.

  "It's not like that, ordinary people die and their souls will recombine and be reborn, unless by chance, it's fundamentally impossible to bring memories of the past life. So, even if you know there is a saying about reincarnation in this world, most people are still unwilling to die even one day earlier, because when a person dies, all the love, hate, emotions, and grudges of this lifetime will end, and even if reborn, they can't be found again."

  Hong Jun nodded: "So, this old man has been working so hard to prolong his life because he still has something unfinished in this lifetime?"

  "Yes, the last time we saw him, we asked him, but he remained silent and didn't tell us the truth." Ji Yang said, "You're back at a bad time, Old Man Pi's in a critical condition and can't be disturbed. Otherwise, you should go see him, maybe you can find out something from his mouth." Ji Yang said regretfully. "By the way, how did you know I'm a reincarnated soul?" Hong Jun still didn't quite understand.