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墨書 Inktalez
"Well, Master Chen, please go ahead. I'm almost home, and Liu Bi is probably still waiting for me. I also want to ask how you managed to pin it down with the Peach Wood Nails," I said.
Master Chen no longer hesitated and spoke directly, "My intention with Nourishing the Soul is not to create a puppet to serve me, but rather to use this soul to revive a friend of mine."
I was taken aback, nearly swerving the car. I thought to myself that Master Chen's idea was quite fantastical. I had heard of some highly skilled Senior Masters who, unable to accept the loss of their family members, forcibly used the Method of Feng Shui to retain their loved ones' souls. They would then find a recently deceased body and perform rituals to attach their family members' souls to that body, ultimately achieving the goal of Borrowing a Corpse to Return to Life.
However, this method goes against the natural order and has a very low success rate. Even if it succeeded and the person came back to life, retaining the original memories of the soul would be difficult. At best, they might become mentally impaired; at worst, they could end up in a Vegetative State. Moreover, if it failed, that soul would lose all chances of Reincarnation. This was an extremely risky endeavor and had become a taboo within the field. Only those with profound mastery in Daoist Techniques would dare attempt it.
Master Chen's meaning was clear: his friend had died, yet he wanted to see his friend alive again, even if it meant becoming a shell of their former self.
Such thoughts were selfish; a person was already dead, leaving only a lifeless shell behind. To see that shell move and breathe normally again, risking the severance of that soul's path to Reincarnation, was deeply inhumane.
I didn't believe that Mr. Chen had the ability to achieve his goals without disrupting that soul's path to Reincarnation. Even if he claimed he could bring his friend back, it wasn't a simple matter. Although he was older than me and had more experience in Daoist Techniques, he still fell short of the levels attained by My Master and Master Pan. I had once asked My Master about performing a Borrowing a Corpse to Return to Life Ritual and what the success rate would be.
At that time, my master scolded me for even considering such things and then told me that if he were forced to do it, the success rate would be less than twenty percent—and first, one would have to sever that soul's path to Reincarnation.
So the reasoning was simple: if Master Chen attempted this, his chances would be even lower. However, if he had Liu Bi's Soul-keeping Umbrella to nurture that soul with abundant Yin Qi, it might slightly increase his odds. No wonder he was so eager for that Soul-keeping Umbrella.
But even then, it would only improve his chances marginally—at most fifty-fifty.
Noticing my prolonged silence, Master Chen spoke up again: "Hey, Master Liu, are you listening?"
His call broke my train of thought. I quickly replied, "Yes, Master Chen. What is your relationship with this friend? Do you really think it's worth doing this?"
"It's worth it," he insisted. "So I earnestly request your help in renting me the umbrella. I just need to nurture that Female Soul until it's at the level I want before returning the umbrella to you. Would that be possible? Or perhaps I could temporarily keep the Female Soul at your place until it's ready for me? I won't touch the umbrella." Master Chen posed another question I couldn't easily answer.
I said firmly, "How many times do I have to tell you? I can't make that decision. Even if I could, I wouldn't agree to it, Master Chen. If possible, I advise you to send that Female Soul away. The karmic burden is too great; you won't be able to bear it." Besides, I certainly didn't want my home to become a place for Nourishing the Soul, especially not with such a seductive Female Soul. If my Master found out, he would definitely kill me.
To me, what he was doing seemed utterly pointless. What he referred to as resurrection was merely merging the Female Soul into his friend's body, turning her into a mindless walking corpse. Moreover, I knew that his friend must be a woman and that her figure matched that of the Female Soul quite well. They were likely around the same age too; what kind of friend could such a young woman be?
Master Chen sighed and said, "Sigh, you're really stubborn. At your young age, why are you so rigid? Do you know how much less work I could have you do with the money I'm giving you?"
I chuckled and replied, "Sorry, Master Chen, but I've just gotten home." After saying that, I hung up the phone. It's better to be practical in life. Some money may come easily, but the price to pay is equally high—especially when it comes to matters involving karmic burdens. You never know when you might inadvertently rack up a significant debt without even realizing it.
Upon returning home and turning on the lights, I saw Liu Bi already sitting on the sofa in the living room. It sat upright, flipping through its palm that had been nailed with Peach Wood Nails. When it saw me return, Liu Bi said, "Brother, can you help me save that Female Soul next to the Old Man?"
Hearing this from Liu Bi made my heart skip a beat; so this little guy had gone to save that Female Soul last night. Did it know her? But hadn't it seen her before? Why hadn't it mentioned this earlier?
I joked, "Have you fallen in love with that sexy ghost?"
Liu Bi shook its head and said expressionlessly, "She's the daughter of a friend of mine. My friend has been reluctant to leave because of her."
"How long has your friend been dead?" I asked.
When Liu Bi mentioned being reluctant to leave for her sake, it clearly meant that its friend had already died and turned into a ghost; otherwise, it wouldn't have said 'reluctant to leave.'
"More than two years now. Brother, speaking of which, you've met my friend before. Do you remember last year when we encountered that Imposter Yincai?" Liu Bi casually mentioned.
As soon as Liu Bi said this, I recalled an incident from one or two years ago when I first met Liu Bi. At that time, it had brought Mu Xue and possessed an extra in a film crew, trying to use the production to burn some Joss Paper as a bribe for that Imposter Yincai. Unfortunately, that Yin Chai turned out to be fake; it was just a powerful Vengeful Spirit trying to steal its Soul-keeping Umbrella. Later on, we even fought with that Imposter Yincai at an intersection outside a cemetery. In the end, I got possessed by the Imposter Yincai and had to go to Changsha to find my Master and Master Pan to drive it away.
During the fight, there was a Spirit God dressed in Funeral Garment who helped us but later disappeared without a trace. According to Liu Bi, that Spirit God was its friend; however, looking at that Spirit God, they seemed to be in their forties or fifties and wore Funeral Garment.
"I'm talking about the Death Spirit that helped us when we were fighting that Imposter Yincai over there," I asked to confirm my thoughts.
Liu Bi nodded and said, "Yes, brother, that's it. The Female Soul that Master Chen captured is its daughter. I suddenly got off the bus last night because I saw it. It told me everything, and I couldn't hold back my temper; I was ready to help it rescue its daughter. But..."
"Wait a minute, you're saying that the Death Spirit that helped us is the father of the Female Soul captured by Master Chen? That shouldn't be possible! You said it's been dead for over two years; how could it still be wandering in the human world?" I sensed something was off. If Liu Bi helped it, then Liu Bi couldn't escape responsibility either. This kind of thing would be a grave sin for someone like Liu Bi, who is a Spirit God.
"That's not because I helped it stay; its resentment is too strong, forcing it to remain in this world. Later, I tried to guide it since I had learned some Taoist principles before, hoping to help it. But instead of helping, we ended up becoming close friends across generations." As soon as Liu Bi finished speaking, I let out a sigh of relief.
I continued to ask, "Your friend hasn't been captured by Master Chen, has it?" Logically speaking, if Liu Bi had been caught, then that Death Spirit would definitely not have escaped unless it hadn't participated in the rescue. Master Chen has a high-level Five Spirits, and that Death Spirit is too weak; if Master Chen wanted to catch it, there would be no way for it to escape.
Liu Bi replied, "No, I told it not to go. Even if it went, it wouldn't have made any difference; I went alone. But who could have guessed that old man was already prepared? He had all sorts of formations set up, just waiting for me to walk into his trap..."
I shook my head and sighed, "Ah, you can talk to me; we can discuss what to do."
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