??
Before the ceremony, they would prepare offerings for those Taoist priests to seek help from various immortals. It can be seen that these gods are also not to be trifled with. Every time Cha Wenbin performed a ritual, he would light three incense sticks as a habit and a sign of respect. The blue smoke wafted upwards, accompanied by the sound of thunder outside, and I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine as I gazed at the portraits of the three deceased hanging on the wall.
The method of the Mao Shan sect is quite particular about the scene, and in front of Cha Wenbin, there are flags, tokens, large seals, ruler-swords, and treasure swords, all present. Around the body of the princess, a circle of candles was lit, which was also the only light in the room at this moment. On the princess's feet, there was a mirror, just like the round mirror used by girls for dressing up, but it was facing away from people. The candle flames were jumping and flickering, and the fire was generally not very big, similar to small green beans. Cha Wenbin said that if the yin energy is too strong, even the yang fire will not be prosperous, and this method is also the simplest way to test whether it is auspicious or not. In the past, when going out, doing business or studying, it was inevitable that one would not find a place to stay, and finding an empty house or a broken temple would make people go in and make do for a night. Experienced people would choose to light a candle in the center of the room, and if the flame burned brightly, with a yellow color and a red tint, it meant that this place was suitable for living; or if the flame was small, with a yellow color and a green tint, and flickering, then one would make a bow to each of the four directions, say "excuse me", and back out of the door with their head bowed. Such a house is not suitable for human habitation, because the yin energy is too heavy, and it is likely that there are dirty things in that place.
Zha Wenbin had a piece of cloth in his hand, and a bowl. The bowl was filled with uncooked rice. He covered the bowl with the cloth and began to circle around the queen, reciting incantations as he turned. I couldn't understand what he was saying - it sounded like gibberish, neither dialect nor Mandarin, but with a rhythm similar to opera singing. This was the oral tradition of Taoist incantations, passed down through generations without written records. Each sect had its own incantations, and even the Taoists themselves didn't know their meaning. As long as you recited them correctly, that's all that mattered. Every generation of masters would start by teaching their disciples how to recite these incantations, a process that took many years - Zha Wenbin spent eight years learning all the incantations passed down by Ma Suifeng. Each incantation had strict rules governing when and where it could be used, and the master would test his students until they got every word right. However, this method of transmission also had its drawbacks - many incantations had already been lost over time. The Tianzheng sect was relatively complete, but compared to the previous generation of Ling Zhengyang, at least half of these incantations had disappeared.
Whether the incantation is useful or not, you can tell by looking at the reaction. When Cha Wenbin was reciting the incantation, the flame of the candle suddenly surged upwards, this isn't just nonsense, it's clearly visible to the naked eye. Following the rhythm of his incantation, those flames seemed to have a spirit-like quality, and would also fluctuate with the ups and downs, but the fire was already much stronger than before.
I thought to myself, "Is this the beginning of Zhang Wenbin's power?" Forgive me for using such words at that time, because I still wanted him to be the boss. After about the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, Zhang Wenbin stopped and walked in front of the cloth, lifted it up, and a magical scene appeared in the bowl.
I swear, from head to toe, no one has touched that bowl. The rice in the bowl was originally poured by me, what a perfect bowl of rice, even and level with the rim. But now the rice has changed from its original flat surface to a slanted surface, one end high and the other low. On the side of the slanted surface, there is also a round hole about the size of a fingernail cover, perfectly rounded and swirling in a spiral shape, very neat. Zhang Wenbin suddenly drew his sword and shouted loudly: "Where are you escaping to!"
That shout was loud and clear, rivaling the thunder outside. If I didn't know him, I would have thought it was a charlatan pretending to be mysterious. He held his sword in one hand and the bell in the other, rushing towards the left side of the house, where there was originally a kitchen separated from this room by a door curtain.
I followed him, and Cha Wenbin took the bell and shook it in the kitchen, making a crisp "ding" sound. He perked up his ears to carefully distinguish the sound, this was the skill. Cha Wenbin had once told me that the bell sound could determine the location of dirty things, because the sound would emit waves, which would bounce off the wall with an echo, but when it hit dirty things, there would be no echo, somewhat like sonar. He had taught me before, but I couldn't hear it, and he immediately rushed to the back of the kitchen again. This was a small compartment, a room divided into two, the front being the kitchen, and the back storing all sorts of jars and cabinets, dark and gloomy, nothing could be seen.
He had just gone in, and I heard a "crash" sound, like the sound of a wine jar being smashed. Then there was another "bang", as if the glass had also been shattered. I hurriedly pulled Xiao Bai to go in too, but she was afraid and didn't dare move, so I had no choice but to give up.
Before long, Cha Wenbin hastily walked out from inside, and I asked: "Is it okay?"
"He shook his head and said: 'Let's go, let's take a look first.'"
Inside the house, Wang Fei's expression was much better than before, and her tightly furrowed eyebrows had relaxed. Cha Wenbin checked her breathing, which was more even than before, and he also let out a sigh of relief, saying: "Bring that rooster here."
After the rooster was brought into the house, Cha Wenbin said again: "Turn on the light." I pulled up the switch, and the dim yellow incandescent lamp was not much better than the candle. The shadows under the lamp flickered back and forth, and I still felt uncomfortable. Cha Wenbin then found my miner's lamp and shone it directly at the rooster's head. That guy, the rooster immediately let out a loud "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" It thought dawn had broken...
This kid must have learned from Zhou Bo Pi, and with this loud shout, I suddenly felt a great boost of energy. Just then, Princess Ping's eyelids moved twice before slowly opening her eyes.
She was still a bit weak and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with me?" When she looked down and saw the messy things on her body, she let out a sharp cry that pierced the night sky of Shang'an Village. We agreed not to reveal the truth about this matter, fearing that she would have psychological shadows in the future. After Zhang Wenbin gave her a pill, she started vomiting, and what came out was unbearable to look at, both smelly and putrid. It was just said that she had eaten something bad, and everything else was concealed.
That night, except for Gun Fei who slept through the night, I, Cha Wenbin and Xiao Bai were all squeezed into one room, enduring until dawn. No one had the heart to sleep, nor did anyone dare to sleep. Because Cha Wenbin said that thing he saw before was the white-shirted man they met on their way back. Isn't this a coincidence? It turned out that in the evening, Gun Fei found there were no more matches at home, so she went out to pick up some dry twigs.
This season everywhere is a green, to make fire use dry firewood, she went to the willow nest, under those big trees there are often branches washed down by the river and stuck in the tree holes, no wonder. At dawn, I accompanied the two of them back to my home to rest, while Cha Wenbin went to discuss something with my father.
This tree belongs to the collective ownership of the village, and it's not that Wen Bin can move it just because he wants to. My dad took him to find the secretary of Shang'an Village, and came up with a reason: The stone dam by the river has been there for many years, my dad suggested re-digging and repairing it, now that the rainy season is approaching, it might be washed away if not fixed. The other party said they had no money to fix it, my dad patted his chest at once, this matter doesn't require people or money from them, just one thing, that old tree must be moved back. Actually, willow trees are worthless, all rotten and hollow, the other party was more than happy, after some discussion, the matter was settled like this.
After returning, my father set up a table of wine and invited seven or eight people, all of whom were strong and capable. At the time, everyone thought it was just to build a stone pier, which would take only a few days to complete. After lunch, a group of old men rushed over, and they went to cut down trees first. Unexpectedly, the villagers from An Village also received the news and came, with thirty or forty people, men, women, and children sitting under the willow tree.
These two groups of people had a feud before, and when they heard that the Hongcun villagers were coming to cut down trees, they wouldn't let them. A bald-headed man said: "The trees were planted by our ancestors in Shang'an Village, why should you be able to cut them down just because you say so? Even if this riverbank collapses, it's still a matter for Shang'an Village, what does it have to do with you?"
I pointed at that rotten willow tree and said: "This is what we call serving the people, just look at how its roots have destroyed the riverbank!"
He spat a mouthful of saliva on the ground and said, "There's no need for you to come and serve, dogs are meddling in other people's business."
My dad got angry at that time, and pushed that fat guy forward, saying: "Who are you scolding?"
The bald man turned his neck and said, "Whoever speaks up will be scolded by me!"
"Slap!" A loud slap, my dad's hand was quite big and rough. The slap landed on the bald man's face, causing it to swell up instantly. Being slapped in front of so many people was indeed humiliating. I reckon this fat guy didn't know about the excitement at the Pang family's place, nor did he know how fierce our group was. He quickly grabbed a nearby hoe and charged towards my dad: "I'll screw your grandma!"
My dad's skill in dealing with a rural rascal is not to be underestimated. He dodged the first blow, and before the bald man could recover, he twisted his arm with one hand, causing the hoe to fall. He spun the bald man around in a circle, facing him again, and slapped him with a loud "smack", making the man shake his head repeatedly. With another kick, he knocked the man to the ground and said: "Hongcun Old Six, your dad doesn't dare to be arrogant in front of me, if you want to act tough, go back and practice some more."
Provide full-text online without pop-up windows, update faster and better article quality. If you think the website is good, please share it more! Thank you for your support, dear readers!
The latest chapter of the last Taoist's door, Chapter 158: One Night of Horror (II). If you think this chapter is not bad, please don't forget to recommend it to your QQ group and Weibo friends!