Chapter 25: Topping Dolls

“Soul, return! Soul, return~”

At midnight, the mournful cry echoed endlessly in the darkness.

This personal maid was also quite interesting.

At first, she trembled in fear, but as she kept calling, she grew accustomed and no longer feared; remembering how kind her mistress had been before falling unconscious, sorrow welled up within her.

Her cries, mixed with sobs, sent chills down the spines of many servants.

Wang Daoxuan, meanwhile, wore a grave expression, picked up several small oil lamps, lit them one by one, and lined them from the courtyard gate all the way to a lamp placed before the head of the unconscious woman…

Li Yan watched silently beside him, daring not to speak.

The two had reached an agreement.

Wang Daoxuan would help him cultivate his spirit and build a mental pavilion; in return, Li Yan would temporarily partner with him, using his own supernatural abilities to help the Daoist take on major jobs and earn silver to escape his predicament.

He would also explain certain mysteries of the Daoist sects.

Though Daoist practices seemed complex, they ultimately followed a set process.

In ancient times, natural disasters were constant and evil entities ran rampant.

Faced with this mysterious, unknown world, people began seeking patterns.

They observed lightning striking trees and discovered the power of fire…

They observed the cycles of seasons and changes in the stars, and compiled calendars…

The Daoist sects were no different—more mysterious, yet fundamentally still about discerning patterns to respond to events beyond ordinary perception.

Broadly, it breaks down into three steps: omen, taboo, and exorcism.

Omen means using observed phenomena and information sensed through supernatural ability to deduce and calculate the root cause of the problem.

All forms of divination arose from this.

Taboo refers to the specific nature of the event, with two methods of response.

One is to abide by the taboo to avoid calamity.

For example, do not whistle at night—some people do it without consequence, but those who have awakened the tongue’s supernatural ability, or ordinary people who whistle in places saturated with yin malevolence, will summon dark spirits.

Also, do not point at statues, do not turn back when hearing voices on a night journey, and follow all the rules during weddings and funerals.

Over time, passed mouth to mouth, these became known as taboos.

As long as one does not break the taboo, disaster can usually be avoided.

But if one truly cannot escape it, ritual exorcism must be performed.

These three steps form the basic process; all Daoist techniques evolved gradually from them, giving rise to the current flourishing diversity of Daoist practices.

Wang Daoxuan’s earlier burning of ash was a simple form of divination.

He calculated the direction of the living soul to perform soul-recall.

The next step, after the living soul returns to the body, is to perform rites and recite the Soul-Still Scripture to prevent the soul from leaving again.

Wang Daoxuan kept a minor yin soldier, which should have made finding the soul easy—but he feared it would scare the soul away, which would be nearly equivalent to murder, so he chose this gentler method.

Li Yan’s task was to use his sense of smell to detect the living soul’s movements and warn Wang Daoxuan not to miss the moment of soul-stilling, lest the ritual fail.

Among the six yang roots of supernatural ability, each has its own strengths.

For direct perception, the yin-yang eyes are supreme—anything within sight can be seen; earth masters who awaken this ability can observe qi from high ground, and sorcerers can target evil entities more accurately…

For mystical power, the mind-spirit root is unmatched—witches, shamans, rice-women, and spirit-mediums need only stay at home to commune with ghosts and gods…

For searching, the nose-spirit root is best—a skilled practitioner can inhale once and detect anomalies within several li, more sensitive than a dog’s nose.

At this moment, Li Yan felt somewhat displeased.

All idle persons in the Lu family mansion had been cleared out; he used the excuse of performing rites to expel evil, carrying a willow branch, and walked the entire estate.

Unfortunately, he never caught the sweet scent from that night.

What exactly was this treasure?

Could it be hidden in Lu the Squire’s treasure vault?

As he pondered, movement came from afar.

The maid stood on the roof, shaking the soul-recall banner, continuously calling out for half an hour, her throat growing hoarse.

Her fear vanished, replaced by suspicion.

Had the master hired a fraud?

At that moment, a cold wind blew past; the maid suddenly felt a chill at her back, as if something had appeared and stood behind her.

The sensation was unmistakable.

Her hair stood on end, and goosebumps covered her skin.

Panic surged within her; she was about to scream, but remembered Wang Daoxuan’s instructions, so she closed her eyes and kept calling, her voice trembling.

In the silent night, the change in her tone immediately drew the attention of the two men in the courtyard.

Li Yan took a deep breath and faintly caught a scent.

Cold, but not bloody like the chambing.

“It’s here!”

He nodded to Wang Daoxuan and whispered a warning.

Wang Daoxuan immediately lifted a bowl of water from the altar, chanted a spell, and shifted his steps—forward one step, left one step, right two steps…

Li Yan watched intently, eyes fixed.

This was called the Gang Step—combined with incantations and the altar, it enabled the use of magical techniques.

Each lineage had its own variations, with differences in quality; according to Wang Daoxuan, highly accomplished sorcerers could tread the Gang Step and star pattern, commune with primordial star spirits, draw down primordial Gang energy, and transform it for their own use.

It sounded like myth. As Wang Daoxuan performed the rite, Li Yan sensed something different.

Around the altar, a peculiar scent rose, warm and faint, enveloping the entire altar as one unified whole.

Gang energy!

Li Yan instantly understood what it was.

Wang Daoxuan, meanwhile, had entered his state—he held the water bowl, chanted, then took a mouthful and suddenly spat it out.

Puff!

A mist of water surged and landed upon the wooden fish.

As if wind stirred water, the altar’s Gang energy swirled around the wooden fish.

Wang Daoxuan then set down the bowl and struck the wooden fish.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The sound of the wooden fish rang through the night, strangely calming.

Li Yan could smell the Gang energy encircling the altar as one whole, expanding outward with each beat.

The maid heard it, felt as if granted divine pardon, immediately stopped calling, shouldered the soul-recall banner, and shakily climbed down from the roof.

!.

Though a ladder had been placed beforehand, the maid was panicked, eyes half-shut, afraid to look around, her body weak.

Plop!

Halfway down, her foot slipped, and she fell.

Fortunately, the maid was quick-witted; though her buttocks ached, she still held the soul-recall banner high, unbroken.

She rose without brushing off the dust, face pale with tears, still holding the banner, and ran toward the back courtyard.

Fortunately, no voices followed her.

The courtyard was dark; with the dim moonlight and her familiarity with the layout, she quickly reached the back courtyard.

When she saw the oil lamps Wang Daoxuan had lit, she finally relaxed, feeling this dark path of the soul had finally ended.

Wang Daoxuan and Li Yan both drew a sharp breath.

There, standing atop the soul-recall banner, was a human figure!

In central regions, during temple fairs, there is a custom called “topping dolls.”

Strong men stand below, wearing specially made iron frames; young boys and girls stand atop, painted red and powdered, dressed in brocade robes, dressed as gods and historical figures, marching with the divine procession.

It is a form of entertainment for the gods.

The current situation resembled “topping dolls” closely.

The difference was that the old woman atop the banner wore black robes, radiating dense yin energy, her face deathly pale, eyes hollow and black—utterly terrifying.

To see the living soul with one’s own eyes was truly inconceivable.

The maid had just relaxed, but seeing their gazes, she sensed something was wrong and dared not look up; trembling, she whispered: “D…D…Daoist…”

“Don’t be afraid!”

Though unaware of the reason, Wang Daoxuan knew he must not make a mistake now.

The living soul, like a timid rabbit, instinctively flees—hiding in brick crevices by day, yet clinging to its body, appearing only at specific moments.

If startled, it vanishes instantly, fleeing to the wilds; finding it again becomes nearly impossible.

If frightened into dispersal, the lady inside would die.

Wang Daoxuan dared not delay—he slowed his speech, lowered his voice, and instructed the maid: “It’s fine, don’t be afraid, walk slowly back to the room, but don’t extinguish the soul-guiding lamps beside you.”

“Yes.”

The maid nodded, holding the banner, and walked shakily toward the room.

The lady’s living soul atop the banner grew denser with yin energy; the soul-guiding lamps flickered wildly, as if about to go out, filling Wang Daoxuan with dread.

Li Yan, seeing this, held his breath.

Knowing a scent and witnessing it with one’s own eyes were entirely different things.

Fortunately, the short distance passed without incident.

As the maid stepped into the room, the oil lamp beside the madam’s bed suddenly flared, and her soul vanished with it.

Wang Daoxuan immediately turned to Li Yan.

Li Yan had been watching closely; he could smell the chilling aura of the soul, now clinging to the madam, growing fainter by the moment.

This was a sign of yin and yang harmonizing, balanced and tranquil.

He said nothing, but nodded to Wang Daoxuan.

Without hesitation, Wang Daoxuan rushed into the room, wielding a long red cord, winding it around the madam’s body with shifting motions until he tied a strange knot.

Meanwhile, the soul-guiding lamp before the bed flickered wildly.

Finally, having trapped the soul, Wang Daoxuan unfastened a bell from his waist, shook it a few times, and began chanting:

“Supreme Platform Star, respond without pause, protect life and guard the body, grant wisdom, clarity, and stillness; let heart and spirit find peace, let the three souls endure forever, let the corporeal soul remain unharmed; let the soul return to its chamber, let the body-soul support the form…”

Though Wang Daoxuan’s cultivation was only at the First Floor, he had clearly trained hard; as soon as he chanted, he slipped instantly into the state.

His voice carried a rhythmic cadence, lingering and far-reaching.

As the incantation continued, the soul-guiding lamp gradually steadied.

Seeing this, Li Yan exhaled in relief.

Wang Daoxuan had said this was the sign of successful soul-stabilization.

If this job succeeded, Wang Daoxuan could escape his current predicament and focus entirely on helping Li Yan store his spirit and build his tower, formally entering the Profound Heaven cultivation path.

Huh~

At that moment, a cold wind swept through.

Li Yan’s eyes snapped wide open as he glanced left and right.

That mysterious fragrance had appeared again!

(End of Chapter)