"Let's go! Let's talk once we get back!"
While speaking, Old Zhang simply threw the ghost card in his hand to me. It seemed that the little radish seemed to like staying in this ghost card. Without waiting for me to say anything, it waved its tiny hand at me and turned into a gust of chilly wind, directly entering the card.
"Mmm!"
Nodding, I then grabbed the dazed Zhang ge behind me and said with a smile, "What are you standing there for, let's go!"
"Huh?"
Being pulled by me, Zhang ge suddenly woke up, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and said with some fear, "Th-that... was really your son?"
"Uh..."
His question caught me off guard. After thinking for a while, I finally nodded, "Sort of... Don't worry, it won't hurt you. Let's go!"
On the way back, Old Zhang specially taught me a spell called "Locking Demon Spell". He said that if the little radish didn't listen to me, I could use this spell to suppress it!
Uh, why does this sound a bit like "Tightening Vajra Spell"?
However, although I remembered the spell, I didn't take it too seriously. I felt that I might not need it at all. After all, the little radish currently obeyed my commands without question, so why wouldn't it listen to me?
Perhaps sensing my lack of concern, Old Zhang couldn't help but say sternly, "Be cautious. It's best for you to be careful! Otherwise, one day, you won't even know how you died!"
"Oh..."
I knew Old Zhang was looking out for me, so I quickly nodded and said, "I understand. I'll be careful."
Back in the shack, Old Zhang immediately started to prepare the materials for foundation building without wasting any time. He said that we must be ready with all the materials tonight, so that I could formally build the foundation tomorrow at noon!
Upon hearing this, I was overjoyed and quickly followed Old Zhang's instructions to assist him.
The so-called materials for foundation building were actually quite simple, but the process was fairly complicated. First, we had to wash rocks, roots, and other items, but we couldn't use normal water for cleaning.
Old Zhang brought a pottery jar from somewhere, filled it with clear water, made a Tai Chi hand posture, and suddenly pointed into the jar while reciting a spell, "This water is extraordinary. When a drop is in the jar, rain will come instantly. Drink it, and all kinds of diseases will disappear. Evil spirits will be crushed, and it's urgent as an imperial decree!"
After reciting the spell, Old Zhang let me put the rocks, roots, and other items into the jar for washing. At the same time, he reminded me, "This is rootless water. After washing these items, don't let them touch the ground, and don't use a towel to dry them. I've already laid out yellow paper on the table. Place them all there and let them air dry naturally. Remember!"
"Got it! I understand!"
I knew nothing about foundation building, so I just followed Old Zhang's orders. Wherever he told me to clean, I cleaned...
Zhang ge was quite interested in this and eagerly wanted to help, but Old Zhang sternly refused. At first, he even wanted Zhang ge to leave, but later, unable to resist Zhang ge's persistence and my encouragement, Old Zhang reluctantly allowed Zhang ge to stay and watch.
While I was done with my part, Old Zhang, on the other hand, had just begun. He quickly mixed saltpeter, cinnabar, and other substances to make ink. It seemed like he was preparing to draw runes?
As I expected, Old Zhang then said, "Next, I must draw runes. Those born in the year of the Chicken and the Dog, stay away!"
"Hey!"
Seeing Zhang ge remain unfazed, Old Zhang couldn't help but raise his voice, "I'm talking to you!"
"Huh?"
Zhang ge finally reacted, wearing a puzzled expression, "I'm neither the year of the Chicken nor the Dog?"
"Nonsense!"
Old Zhang didn't mince words, "You're 29 years old this year, born in the year of Renxu. If you're not a Dog, then who the hell is?"
"Well..."
Zhang Ge looked at Lao Zhang with a shocked expression and subconsciously asked, "How did you know?"
"Mind your own business, get lost!" With a wave of his hand, Lao Zhang directly pointed to the door, ordering Zhang Ge to leave.
With a pleading look, Zhang Ge glanced at me, and seeing me shrug my shoulders, looking helpless, he reluctantly smiled and said, "Alright..."
After Zhang Ge left, I approached Lao Zhang with a puzzled look and asked, "I've never heard that people born in the year of the Rooster or Dog need to avoid when drawing symbols."
"You don't understand. I deliberately sent him away! That kid was just possessed by a ghost, with a heavy Yin energy on him. If he stayed here, it would affect the effectiveness of my symbol drawing!" Speaking, Lao Zhang then laid out all the necessary items for drawing symbols on the table.
Compared to Xia Xiaoyi, Lao Zhang's process of drawing symbols was quite complicated. First, he burned incense and paid respects to the ancestors and the earth, then he held yellow paper and chanted, "The Northern Emperor orders my paper, to expel evil spirits. Anyone who disobeys, be sent to the Fengdu City! Promptly, as per the decree!"
Do you think that's all?
Of course not!
Before actually drawing the symbols, he even had to chant the spell for the brush, "Reside, Thunder God, burn and illuminate, firstly for self-preservation, then to bind and suppress evil spirits, life and death, the way of heaven and my perpetual existence, promptly as..."
However, before Lao Zhang could finish chanting the "Clear Brush Spell", there was a sudden urgent knocking at the door!
"What the hell?" Suddenly interrupted, Lao Zhang's face turned pale instantly, and he couldn't help but curse aloud.
"Uh?" Seeing Lao Zhang's obvious change in state, I quickly went to support him and asked, "What's wrong?"
But Lao Zhang did not respond to me. He pushed me away and then opened the door, looking fierce and intense, "If you don't give me a reasonable explanation, I'll kill you today!"
"This..." Honestly, I've known Lao Zhang for a long time, and it's the first time I've seen him so angry! Even after Xia Xiaoyi released the "Shadow Lady", he didn't seem to be this angry, did he?
Thinking about Lao Zhang's pale face and his sudden rage, I thought, could it be that being interrupted while chanting resulted in a backlash for him?
Seeing Lao Zhang's fierce expression, Zhang Ge was instantly frightened, trembling all over, and stammered, "No... it's not right, there's deception! Han... Han Squad... they're in danger!"
As he said this, Zhang Ge didn't dare to look at Lao Zhang, and quickly turned to me for help. Perhaps, he was still very aggrieved in his heart, and he didn't even know where he had offended Lao Zhang. Wasn't everything okay just now? How did it escalate to this?
"What! So soon?" Hearing this, I also couldn't help but change my expression and quickly stopped Lao Zhang, saying, "Don't be angry, he didn't mean it. You heard it too, he's just anxious!"
"Hmph!" With a snort, Lao Zhang eventually suppressed his anger and asked, "Who did you say is deceiving?"
Seeing him ease his expression, I quickly said, "Feng Chen, Director Feng! That's Little Radish's biological father!"
"Ah?" hearing this, Lao Zhang was visibly stunned, then coldly smiled, "He's indeed dead!"
Uh, from what he said, it seemed like he had known earlier that Feng Chen was Little Radish's biological father?
Before I could comprehend it, Lao Zhang's pale face suddenly turned bright red, and with a "pu chi" sound, a mouthful of blood sprayed out!
"Ah! Lao Zhang!" Seeing him spitting out blood, I was suddenly shocked and hurriedly hugged him. At the same time, I glared at Zhang Ge with some anger, "What have you done!"
"I..." Upon hearing this, Zhang Ge finally realized the magnitude of his mistake. He also understood why Lao Zhang was so angry! It seemed that the interruption of the incantation did indeed bring a great backlash to him!
"It's fine!" Lao Zhang took a deep breath, waved his hand, and asked, "You said he's deceiving?"
"Yes! Otherwise I..." Zhang Ge hurriedly nodded, looking at a loss, "I'm sorry, senior, I didn't mean it!"
"Enough! Too much nonsense, lead the way!" Saying so, Lao Zhang shook off my hand and went to retrieve his tools from under the bed.
"What? Are you sure you're okay?" Looking at Lao Zhang's pale face, I couldn't help but feel worried and pleaded, "I'll go instead!"
"Are you?" Lao Zhang gave me a half-smile, shook his head, and said seriously, "This matter isn't as simple as you think! If it's just simple deception, it would be fine. But I'm worried, it's likely not deception, but corpse alteration!"
"Corpse alteration?" Hearing this, I couldn't help but change my expression. I thought, could Xia Xiaoyi's words really be accurate?
"This can't be so unfortunate, right?"
"Feigning death" and "corpse transformation" may sound like they have the same meaning, but in fact, they are completely different things! Despite the minor difference in wording, the meanings they represent are like night and day.
According to ancient texts, when a person dies, there is usually a lingering breath left in the chest. If at this time they are rushed by small animals such as cats and dogs, there will be a phenomenon of "false resurrection", and the soul of the animal will also be attached to the corpse. This situation is called "feigning death".
Feigning death can make a person briefly come back to life, but it only relies on a breath to sustain life and does not have any thinking ability. It will only bite wildly like a wild beast. Once this breath is exhausted, the person will die completely, so it is very easy to deal with.
However, corpse transformation is different. It refers to the transitional period between life and death (also known as the "intermediate body" stage in Buddhism). Under the influence of some external force, the corpse gains abilities beyond those of an ordinary person! Some of the "products" of corpse transformation even have quite high thinking ability!