Chapter 146

"Digging graves and breaking tombs..."

Squire Du was somewhat puzzled, "Wasn't the ancestral tomb already destroyed?"

"How could it be that easy." Wang Daoxuan shook his head, "The marrow-dripping formation is already formed, with the ancestors and the Du family bloodline as the interior, and the ancestral Yin residence and the Du family Yang residence as the exterior."

"The Yin residence was destroyed, damaging only the surface; the poison is overflowing, and harming the bloodline descendants is the root cause. And that evil Sheng is the evil fruit born from this matter."

"It uses the descendants' bloodline as a nest; if you all don't die, it won't die either. If the Du family bloodline is cut off, it will completely break free and become a monster, bringing disaster to the region."

"But once this evil emerges, it is also the Du family's chance for survival."

"We just need to find the ancestor's coffin, first use secret methods to contain it, and then Squire Du can invite the Taixuan Orthodox Sect to take action and suppress it in the Chenghuangmiao, and the bloodline curse will stop."

Luo Faqing frowned upon hearing this, "Can't it be suppressed and killed?"

"Suppressed and killed?"

Wang Daoxuan shook his head, "The Dao of Heaven and Earth has its own laws. If the Dao of killing could solve all problems, where would the disasters of humanity and all the sorrows of the world come from?"

"In summer, the sun is scorching; can you kill the light?"

"In winter, ice and snow cover everything; how can you kill the severe cold?"

"The founding emperor of this dynasty once established cruel laws, where all corrupt officials were skinned and stuffed with straw, and suppressed in the Chenghuangmiao; yet, has he ever been able to kill the greed in people's hearts?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Luo Faqing was speechless.

"The same logic applies to these monsters."

Wang Daoxuan said in a deep voice, "They arise due to natural disasters or man-made calamities. Even the Taixuan Orthodox Sect has no way to kill them; they can only be suppressed in blessed caves and paradises, praying for blessings day and night to gradually resolve them."

"Now that the resentment curse has penetrated deep into the Du family bloodline, only by digging out the bones and removing the poison can this evil Sheng be suppressed, but this will also destroy the marrow-dripping formation."

"From now on, the Du family will have no more good fortune; everything will depend on yourselves, and you must cultivate virtue and benevolence, burning incense day and night to pray for blessings and dispel disasters."

"How to proceed depends on Squire Du's decision."

"I agree!"

Before Squire Du could speak, his eldest son, Du An, who was eavesdropping outside the door, rushed in, knelt before Squire Du, and kowtowed with tears streaming down his face, "Father, I don't ask for wealth, I only wish for Wan'er and the family to be safe and sound, even if I have to give up everything!"

A hint of relief appeared in Squire Du's eyes as he helped Du An up, "Although your aptitude is not as good as Chong'er's, you are kind-hearted and are the root of the family's blessings; your father didn't misjudge you."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Wang Daoxuan, bowed, and cupped his hands, "Daoist, I have the same intention. As long as my family is safe, I am willing to give up everything!"

"Then it's easy to handle."

Wang Daoxuan nodded, "Although this thing is a monster, it also belongs to the category of disaster evil, but it has developed intelligence and can pounce on people on its own. The disaster tonight has passed, but it will cause trouble again tomorrow night."

"This poor Daoist has a method to temporarily avoid the disaster."

"There is no time to lose, Squire Du. This poor Daoist needs materials for paper figurines, and all Du family members must be present, even the wives and concubines are no exception."

Squire Du hurriedly ordered, "Quick, quick, go prepare!"

…………

"One by one, don't be afraid."

"It's okay, stand up straight, raise your arms..."

In the main hall, Sha Lifei was directing them loudly.

Steward Wang and the servants used tape measures to measure everyone's height, arm length, leg length, and even the length of their necks and head circumference.

Squire Du personally held a brush to record; every time a person's data was measured, he would cut a bamboo strip of the same length and place them in order.

Li Yan cooperated with Wang Daoxuan to make paper figurines.

While helping, he watched with great interest.

The "Northern Emperor's Taiwei Chuling Technique" naturally also had methods for making paper figurines, straw figurines, and even puppets, but the techniques were too ancient, emphasizing spirit over form, just needing to have a rough appearance.

But Wang Daoxuan's paper figurines were made with extreme care.

Height, size, and even facial shape had to be similar.

Luo Faqing didn't think much of Li Yan and Sha Lifei, but after what happened last night, he felt respect for Wang Daoxuan.

Seeing this, he hesitated and asked, "Daoist Wang, this is a Yin Sect method, right? I didn't expect you to have dabbled in it."

"This poor Daoist is far behind."

Wang Daoxuan's hands didn't stop, and he said calmly, "Methods of averting disasters are inevitably insufficient in strength; if things change, subsequent remedies are needed."

"Remedies are nothing more than five methods: confusing the spirit, punishing the spirit, breaking the formation, moving the disaster, and cultivating the body. This is the method of confusing the spirit and moving the disaster."

"To confuse that evil object, the bones, flesh, and appearance must all be similar."

Li Yan also said with interest, "I didn't expect paper figurines to have such requirements."

"It also developed slowly."

Wang Daoxuan sighed, "Those who work in the Yin Sect have existed since the time of Yao and Shun, but they are tabooed by others and do not enter the Orthodox Sects or Dharma Lineages, so their status is low, their knowledge is insufficient, and everything is passed down by word of mouth from master to apprentice."

"Later, Song Ci wrote 'Records of Washing Away Wrongs', and the status of the coroner profession improved slightly, with them being honored as the founding master. Other side-door heretics also respected and learned from them, such as these paper-craftsmen, whose techniques also improved significantly."

"This poor Daoist traveled the world and once learned from a fellow practitioner, but only got a little bit of the surface..."

As he spoke, a paper figurine was completed; it was Squire Du's substitute, with height, hairstyle, facial features, and even the color of the clothes being similar.

The only thing was that the eyes hadn't been dotted.

Wang Daoxuan's expression grew solemn; he pinched a seal, dipped it in a little blood squeezed out by Squire Du, chanted the Six Jia secret mantra, and tapped lightly on the paper figurine's eyes.

Everyone held their breath and watched carefully.

However, nothing happened.

"This... it failed."

Wang Daoxuan was somewhat embarrassed and smiled bitterly, "This poor Daoist is not a person of this trade after all; I can make the appearance and bones, but I cannot get the spirit. I'm afraid it will be seen through at a glance."

"Let's do it again, I hope we can finish it today..."

"Wait!"

Li Yan thought for a moment and said, "If we only need to get the spirit, perhaps I have a way."

Having said that, he pinched a Dharma seal, used the "Northern Emperor's Taiwei Chuling Technique", and hooked his little finger lightly.

Whoosh!

A piece of straw-spirit paper figurine flew out from the leather bag at his waist, dancing with the wind and circling up and down around him.

Li Yan clamped it with two fingers, dipped the straw-spirit paper figurine in Squire Du's blood, and then pinched a Dharma seal, and the small paper figurine drilled into the body of the large paper figurine through the seam behind its back.

The straw spirit is the spirit.

In terms of getting the spirit, what could be more suitable than a straw spirit?

Whoosh~

Once the paper figurine was formed, Yin winds suddenly rose in the main hall.

The candle flames flickered, and the atmosphere seemed somewhat eerie.

Li Yan could smell that the paper figurine actually had Squire Du's scent, although it was somewhat faint, it was exactly the same!

"Quick... look quickly!"

Steward Wang's voice trembled as he pointed at the paper figurine, shivering.

He saw the paper figurine's neck twisting slowly, but feeling so many gazes, it seemed startled and quickly straightened back.

Seeing such a scene made many people's backs feel cold.

"It's done!"

Wang Daoxuan clapped his hands and laughed, "I didn't expect it could be done this way; compared to those made by the Mystic Sect paper-craftsmen, it's not a bit inferior."

"With this method, many things will be easier to handle in the future."

Li Yan was also somewhat pleasantly surprised; he didn't expect the straw spirit could be used this way. He and Wang Daoxuan looked at each other and smiled, both understanding in their hearts.

This method had many uses.

Not only could it be used to block disasters, but it could also increase the power of Wang Daoxuan's spells. Luo Faqing was also stunned for a moment and nodded, "Congratulations to you both."

He could naturally see the wonder of this thing.

With the experiment successful, their speed became faster and faster.

The reason Wang Daoxuan wanted to leave a day was because he was afraid that dotting the eyes would fail and they would have to toss and turn.

And with Li Yan's cooperation, they were finished before noon.

In the main hall of the Du family, it was densely packed with paper figurines.

Every family member had two.

All paper figurines were covered with red cloth.

Wang Daoxuan said in a deep voice to Squire Du, "Remember, before the Zi hour every night, all Du family members must leave, and livestock like chickens, ducks, dogs, and mules and horses are not allowed to stay."

"Wait until the Zi hour has passed and it's almost dawn before returning home."

"These paper figurines have some intelligence and act as substitutes for your bodies to block disasters, so they inevitably have resentment. After dawn, burn incense and worship them, then burn them with willow wood as firewood at noon when the sun is at its peak."

!.

"Remember not to miss a single one; don't let the trouble here be unresolved while the paper figurines start causing trouble again."

"On the second night, if we haven't returned, just follow the plan and put up the second paper figurine, and lift the red cover."

"Also, Squire Du can immediately send people to Chang'an to invite the Chenghuangmiao to help. If they don't return, don't wait, just run to the Xianyang Chenghuangmiao; the temple master there, Senior Qingyangzi, is an old acquaintance of ours."

Squire Du listened carefully, his expression solemn, "This old man has noted it down, there won't be any mistakes."

Wang Daoxuan nodded, "There is no third time for the first and second; this method can only block for two nights. There is no time to lose, let's set off now."

"Someone, prepare the horses!"

Squire Du had already had people feed the horses with grass.

Li Yan and the others packed their things, and after leaving the Du residence, Luo Faqing hesitated and asked, "Daoist Wang, should I still go with you?"

"No."

Wang Daoxuan shook his head solemnly, "Breaking the tomb is actually easy to handle; this poor Daoist will perform rituals to temporarily suppress it, waiting for the Taixuan Orthodox Sect to arrive."

"This side is the root cause; two people have already died tragically, and the old lady's brain and lungs were eaten, corresponding to the brain-hiding god and the number of the five elements, plus the missing grandson, that's two people."

"If it really is an evil path layout, then if three more people are harmed, that evil Sheng will truly be formed."

"Daoist Luo's techniques are brilliant; if that evil path comes to cause trouble, you must drag it out until we succeed!"

"Please rest assured, Daoist!"

Luo Faqing bowed righteously.

He also had a breath of anger in his heart; although he was convinced by Wang Daoxuan, he had also lost face this time. If he let the evil path succeed, he might as well stop mixing in the martial world.

"Take care!"

After a farewell, Li Yan and the others rode away.

Unknowingly, it started snowing again in the sky...

…………

Night fell, and the gale rolled the flying snow.

"Daoist master, we've arrived!"

Sha Lifei pressed his bamboo hat and roared in the wind and snow.

Heaven has unpredictable winds and clouds; it snowed again when they set off at noon, and then the north wind howled, getting heavier and heavier.

The snow covered the trenches on the road; riding a horse in this weather was really not a good choice, so the three of them walked, leading their horses against the wind and snow.

Fortunately, the ancient Haojing ruins were not far, and they had arrived.

"Over there is the old site of the Epang Palace, over there is ancient Haojing; this whole area used to be the Shanglin Garden. I know a place where we can shelter from the wind!"

Sha Lifei pointed forward, led the two of them for another mile, and arrived at the corner of an earthen wall.

The wind was significantly smaller here. Li Yan lit a torch to check the surroundings by the flickering light, and soon made a discovery.

Although the surrounding earthen walls were severely weathered and covered with thick snow, one could barely make out that it had once been an ancient city ruin.

Haojing, Epang Palace, Shanglin Garden...

These brilliant names in history books, after countless years and wars, now only remained as some unrecognizable earthen walls.

Li Yan smiled, "Uncle Sha is quite familiar with this place."

"I used to come here often for a while."

Sha Lifei smiled, "It's almost the twelfth month now, the days of 'beating the night fox'. I remember a few years ago, it was popular for wealthy families in Chang'an to wear fox fur coats, especially when beating the night fox; bringing a fox to the door could get quite a reward, so we came here to hunt foxes for money..."

"Beating the night fox," also called "beating the night fox."

It is rumored that Emperor Jingzong of Tang was addicted to alchemy and immortality, was licentious and extravagant, and engaged in massive construction; the masterpiece "Ode to the Epang Palace" was written to admonish him.

Of course, no matter how well it was written, it was of no use to him.

Besides that, Emperor Jingzong of Tang had a special hobby: he liked to take people out to hunt foxes at night.

I don't know why, but this thing evolved into a folk custom. Every twelfth month, beggars and down-and-out people in the city would dress up as ghosts and gods, beating gongs and drums, knocking on doors to ask for money, saying they were helping you drive away plague ghosts.

For good luck, most people would give a little.

It was quite similar to the "trick or treat" of Halloween.

Li Yan asked suspiciously, "I've never heard of having to send a real fox to beat the night fox?"

"Hey, it's all people in the city following the trend."

Sha Lifei said disdainfully, "People in Chang'an are like this; seeing what wealthy families do, they follow suit, saying that the fox fur obtained that day has the power to ward off evil, but it was later banned."

"Why?"

"Something happened. Rumor has it that someone was beating foxes, and there was fox fire over at the Epang Palace, causing fox ghosts, and many martial world guests died, so the government ordered it banned."

"But I didn't go, so I don't know if the rumors are true or false..."

After chatting casually for a few sentences, Li Yan took out a scroll.

The scroll was exquisitely made, like a fan, with bamboo as the ribs and fine silk as the skin. When spread out, it was densely packed with writing and a map.

This thing is called an "Ai Ce" (Elegy).

Originally, it was an object of the imperial family, used to praise the merits of emperors and concubines during their lifetime, write sacrificial texts, and bury them together in the tomb.

Later, the custom spread to the common people. Some large families, because their tombs were remote and hidden, would also make them so that later generations wouldn't know where the ancestral graves were; it was also considered a family secret.

This copy was given by Squire Du and recorded the location of the tomb in detail.

Looking at it carefully by torchlight, Sha Lifei's eyes suddenly lit up, "Sigh, I know this place; it's not far, we can get there in another two sticks of incense."

Wang Daoxuan also looked at the Ai Ce and thought thoughtfully, "Sure enough, the Du family broke through the old Zhou tomb and hid it."

"Looking at the appearance, it's quite spacious inside. Let's go now, just in time to get things done, and incidentally avoid the wind and snow."

After making up their minds, the three of them set off immediately.

Not long after, they arrived at a plain. On the plain, one hill after another rose and fell, covered by heavy snow, like steamed buns, and also like grave mounds.

Of course, many of these were also tombs of dukes and marquises, with mounds of earth, some large and some small, from different eras, many of which had been visited by tomb robbers, dug full of holes.

"Look over there!"

Arriving at the foot of a hill, Sha Lifei suddenly pointed to the right.

He saw a huge crack appearing abruptly on the mountainside, and some huge bricks scattered...

(End of chapter)