Chapter 378

"Ah..." At the moment the silver needle pierced the ghost seal, Shishi's body emitted a cry of extreme pain that shot to the heavens, and waves of resentment emanated from her body.

"You... you really aren't afraid of cutting off descendants and severing lineage?" the old ghost who called himself the "whatever family" shouted in disbelief, his proudest reliance shattered into pieces by Pangzi's single needle.

"I was wrong..." The howl eventually turned into a wail, the voice growing fainter and fainter until it faded to nothing, slowly disappearing in the room where they were searching for grandmother.

At that moment, Shishi, who had been pressed onto the chair by me, suddenly began to twitch rapidly, her eyelids flipping upward, her body curling up, shivering uncontrollably.

"Hai Sheng, quickly press her philtrum, Yao Yirong, go get the chopsticks. Her body is too weak; this is the aftereffect left after that thing departed."

I dared not hesitate, pressing my thumb firmly on Shishi's philtrum point. When the chopsticks arrived, Pangzi used them to clamp Shishi's tongue, preventing her from biting it and committing suicide.

Afterwards, everyone laid her flat on the ground, kneading her whole body to promote circulation of her blood.

This tense feeling accompanied us for a long time, and with our unremitting efforts, Shishi finally returned to normal. However, after returning to normal, Shishi did not immediately wake up, still lying on the ground with her eyes tightly shut.

"She's fine; she's just physically very weak. Hold her back to bed to rest a while, and she'll wake up soon."

Seeing Grandma Zhao becoming increasingly anxious, crying and fussing, Pangzi hurriedly explained and soothed her nervous emotions.

Yao Yirong carried Shishi back into the house, while Grandma Zhao and Silijing, not feeling reassured, followed them inside.

Only I and Pangzi remained in the hall; at that moment, Pangzi was wiping the sweat from his forehead and then cleaned the silver needle before putting it back into the box.

"Pangzi, can you tell me why the Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate also cause the five declines and three deficiencies?" Shishi had been saved, but I felt an indescribable gloom. Ghost seal, cause and effect... those words had also been spoken by the Great Immortal Hunyuan; why would the ghost seal be stained with cause and effect, and aren't the Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate meant to save people?

Looking at my doubtful eyes, Pangzi shook his head: "Sit down, I'll explain it clearly to you."

I grunted in acknowledgment, then grabbed a chair beside Pangzi and sat down.

After I sat down, Pangzi paused for a moment, took a sip of water, and then began to explain the reasons in detail.

Actually, the Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate had long been called the "cause-and-effect needles." Moreover, they follow a very strict procedure; it's not that you can just needle whenever you want. If you don't follow the procedure, the needle becomes a deadly one, and the practitioner will most likely suffer the fate of extinction of lineage.

The so-called procedure says in the Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate: first advise, then intimidate, then needle; choose two points to needle oneself, after needling carefully inquire about the cause, then thrice advise to send it away; unless truly unavoidable, one must not needle the philtrum, the yin point, and the ghost seal—the three points that all connect to cause and effect. Having accepted them, one must inevitably pay. May the practitioner be cautious, cautious indeed.

The meaning of this saying is that the inheritor of the Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate, when encountering hysteria, must patiently and kindly persuade, using both soft and hard methods; only if both fail may one needle to save the person. When needling, one should select two points other than the philtrum, the yin point, and the ghost seal. After the needle enters the patient's body, one must carefully inquire about the cause and then kindly send it away; if it is not a situation of having no recourse or being extremely urgent, one must not needle the philtrum, the yin point, or the ghost seal.

Although ghosts are intangible, they are still one of the beings in the six paths; heaven possesses the virtue of cherishing life and treats all beings in any path fairly. If one does not inquire about the cause, does not kindly persuade, and upon encountering hysteria randomly applies needles, caring only for the outcome and not for good or evil, then the practitioner will suffer heavenly punishment for recklessly applying the Thirteen Needles.

As for how severe this heavenly punishment is, I have never used the Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate, so I am not clear either; however, Pangzi told me a story in which there was a practitioner of the Thirteen Needles who sought results without regard for cause and effect.

This practitioner's name was Song Baizhi; he was very famous in his hometown, skilled at acupuncture, able to cure many difficult and complicated ailments that even big hospitals couldn't treat—just come to Song Baizhi, a few needles and the illness would be cured. It is said that Song Baizhi also had a special skill: he knew the Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate, specializing in treating serious illnesses caused by invasion of the five poisons.

This is a miraculous effect among the Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate: not only can it treat hysteria, but it can also expel the five poisons. And in Song Baizhi's hometown, for a long period of time the five poisons were rampant, harming ordinary people for no reason.

Naturally, Song Baizhi's miraculous ability attracted many patients suffering from stubborn ailments caused by the five poisons seeking treatment; as a doctor, Song Baizhi responded to every request and treated every illness. Moreover, his technique was steady, precise, and ruthless; after he applied the Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate, the five-poison demons would undoubtedly die, and the patients' bodies would naturally recover quickly. Over time, Song Baizhi unintentionally forged a deep grudge and great hatred against the five poisons.

One evening in a certain year, after Song Baizhi finished washing up and was about to go to sleep, he suddenly heard someone knocking at the door. Opening the door, he saw a young man resembling a bodyguard. The young man said: "Mr. Song, our boss is ill and wishes to invite you to come take a look."

Song Baizhi asked: "Where does your boss live?"

The employee replied: "In the suburbs outside the city."

Song Baizhi thought to himself: I am in the city, the patient is in the suburbs, the distance is too great, and it's dark night, which would likely be inconvenient. So he said: "How about I come tomorrow morning?"

The bodyguard young man anxiously replied: "Sorry to trouble you, Mr. Song, but our boss is critically ill; if we wait until tomorrow, it will be delayed."

As a doctor ought to practice medicine to save lives, Song Baizhi nodded in agreement. He returned indoors, grabbed his medicine box, and deliberately took along thirteen silver needles. Upon stepping outside, he saw a brand-new BMW parked outside the gate. Song Baizhi got into the car, and the employee honked the horn and drove off.

The BMW drove through the city district, speeding eastward for a long time; Song Baizhi felt strange and asked: "Have we arrived at your boss's home?"

The bodyguard young man said: "We'll be there shortly."

The BMW continued to speed forward, going even farther, still showing no sign of stopping; Song Baizhi grew uneasy and asked again: "Still not arrived?!"

The bodyguard young man said: "It's just ahead, not far."

The BMW then drove even farther. Song Baizhi felt something was wrong, picked up his medicine box, and said: "Turn the car around; I'm not going."

The bodyguard young man suddenly slammed the brakes and said: "Mr. Song, don't be angry; we have already arrived."

Song Baizhi stepped out of the BMW and saw before him a large, antiquated courtyard. He entered the gate; shadows of people flitted about in the courtyard, several men and women busily doing something unknown. Passing through the dim corridor, he came to the master bedroom in the rear courtyard. There, on a wide redwood bed, lay half-reclined, half-sitting a sixty- or seventy-year-old man, his complexion sallow, his spirit listless. Song Baizhi approached, took his pulse, examined his tongue coating, performed the four diagnostic methods, and then knew the situation: this man had been afflicted by the five poisons. He then took from his medicine box about a foot-long thirteen silver needles, sterilized them over candlelight, and according to the meridians and points, needled them respectively into the man's face, chest, and so on. Only after an hour did he withdraw the needles. The old man's complexion immediately turned rosy, and his spirit greatly improved.

The old man was very pleased and insisted on inviting Song Baizhi to a meal. Song Baizhi could not refuse, so he went to their dining hall. There stood a purple sandalwood square table, laden with a full spread of already prepared delicious dishes. Song Baizhi could not help but feel his appetite surge, and he ate his fill. The old man, keeping him company, repeatedly offered a toast; Song Baizhi could not restrain himself and drank to the point of being somewhat intoxicated.

Seeing this, the old man again invited Song Baizhi to stay overnight. Song Baizhi readily agreed. After a simple wash-up, he went to the guest room, where he saw an ornately carved and inlaid large bed, with a thick cotton quilt rolled up in red waves. Lying upon it, Song Baizhi felt as if he were in an ancient palace, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

The night passed without incident. The next day, while Song Baizhi was still enjoying a beautiful dream, he suddenly felt someone pushing him: "Mr. Song, why are you sleeping here?"

Song Baizhi opened his eyes to see a blue sky and clear heavens, yet felt his whole body turn icy cold. He tried to roll over and sit up, but his arms and legs were stiff and immobile. After a while, with others' help, he managed to sit up with effort, and discovered that he was actually lying in the wilderness, all around him scattered the bones and remnants of green snakes, centipedes, scorpions, geckos, and toads. Recalling the delicious feast he had devoured the previous night at the table, he suddenly realized it must have been those very green snakes, centipedes, scorpions, geckos, and toads. Song Baizhi felt his intestines churning like a river in revolt, and involuntarily he vomited violently, bringing up only filthy black water and rotten, foul-smelling tissue.

After returning home, Song Baizhi lay in bed for three months before recovering, but he had not repented. Following this ordeal, his hatred for the five poisons grew to the bone; whenever he encountered the five poisons again, his methods became even more vicious, without any preamble he would directly needle and kill the five poisons that were causing harm in a person's body.

Three years later, Song Baizhi's son was born.

Having a son in his old age, Song Baizhi was naturally overjoyed. Yet he never expected that his son, before reaching a hundred days, would die of a serious illness, leaving even the physician Song Baizhi helpless.

After another year, a second daughter was born; likewise she did not live past a hundred days before perishing. Before these two children's deaths, a strange event occurred: Song Baizhi's wife, shortly before each child's demise, had dreamed of countless green snakes, centipedes, scorpions, and other animals weeping toward her.

At this point, Song Baizhi finally awakened, beginning to realize he was wrong; the five poisons that had initially possessed people and wrought havoc were indeed malevolent, utterly unforgivable. Killing them was an act of goodness, fulfilling his duty. Yet he had not considered that among these scattered incidents, some also had their causes rooted in people, some of the five poisons were merely being manipulated by humans, and they too had their own pitiable aspects.

But his killing intent was too heavy, too obsessive; upon encountering a stubborn ailment, he did not inquire into the cause, and upon acting he would kill it, thereby sowing the seed of unforgivable evil, for which he would inevitably reap the bitter fruit.

From then on, Song Baizhi understood a principle: whether dealing with people, ghosts, or the five poisons, in all worldly affairs one must always leave a margin, and this margin is also a retreat he reserves for himself.