They stayed in the Wang family for two days, and it was time to go to He Lao's "Fusang" day. This was originally a long time ago when people died, they were not buried immediately, but only shallowly buried the coffin, covered with a thin layer of soil, equivalent to refilling the pit that had been dug, but the ground surface was flat, without leaving a mound. It is necessary to wait until three days after the burial, and then go to do the last ritual, set up a tomb, this is called "Fusang".

  But because modern people all add a concrete top to the tomb, one is that the tomb is solid and won't get wet; two is also more like a proper shape than in the past.

  It's because they used cement to cover it up, so the "Fushan" funeral culture that had existed in the past has disappeared. Because when burying, they already use cement to seal the arch, and it's done once and for all. However, Cha Wenbin didn't plan to skip this step, he decided to follow the old rules passed down by his ancestors one more time.

  On this day, several relatives at home brought cooked food and things needed for worship and went up the mountain.

  He arranged the offerings, lit incense and candles, and then Cha Wenbin picked up a handful of yellow earth from in front of the grave and piled it into a small mound on top of the concrete cover. He weighed it down with stones and several sheets of yellow paper, which was considered to be giving Mr. He his mountain back.

  When placing the stone, Cha Wenbin felt that his left thumb was becoming stiff and not as flexible as before, and his ring finger was also slightly numb. He didn't pay attention to it, thinking that he had been outdoors a lot recently and might have caught a cold in his joints.

  In the evening, close relatives and friends sat down at the Wang family home to have a meal. This meal signified that the deceased had gone, and the mourning could be considered officially over from today on.

  Chao Tzu bid farewell to his relatives and then gathered with Cha Wenbin and others to discuss their future lives. In short, Chao Tzu still wanted to engage in the antique business, while Zhuo Xiong had already sold all his assets left in Sichuan at a low price and did not want to return. Heng Roulian, who was originally following him, also planned to stay behind. Cha Wenbin hoped to return to his hometown to farm and spend the rest of his life deciphering the mysterious seal script to comfort the spirit of He Lao in heaven.

  In the end, they all chipped in to build a big house at Cha Wenbin's old home. Chaozi and Zhuo Xiong were in charge of managing the construction, while Heng Roulian helped Cha Wenbin with farm work because he was strong. On that day, they also gained something new - Cha Wenbin gave Heng Roulian a nickname: Dashan! From this, it can be inferred that his surname is Zhuo, as they all came from the same village.

  It was settled at that time, Cha Wenbin prepared to finish the seventh for He Lao and then start working. Many things in the early stage, such as buying materials, finding craftsmen, and preparing drawings.

  Zha Wenbin is a Taoist, so he would check the auspicious days before proceeding with the construction. The house was temporarily scheduled to be demolished in 20 days, and everyone was busy during that time. However, because Zha Wenbin was kind and often helped others, the villagers were willing to help him. Some people who couldn't help with labor, like Principal Jin, knew that Zha Wenbin wouldn't accept money, so they sent someone from the county town to deliver the best steel and cement, which made Zha Wenbin feel a bit embarrassed.

  But there is one thing, Cha Wenbin doesn't know how to say it out loud, He Lao still has a seventh day that hasn't been done, and Chaozi also reminded him, but he said the time hadn't come yet. Cha Wenbin had calculated it, he wasn't coming on the seventh day, but on the eighteenth day! After a person dies, they will be brought back by the yin messengers to take one last look, to fulfill their wishes from when they were alive, so that they won't have any lingering thoughts in the underworld, which is what we call "hui hun ye" (the night of the returning soul).

  There are two kinds of returning souls: one is the ordinary night of returning souls, usually on the seventh day, and there are also other times. Basically, it's just a visit and then leave. As long as you keep people who clash with the day away, nothing will happen. So even if it's ahead of schedule or postponed to the seventh day, it doesn't matter much; Another kind is called "returning evil", on the day of returning evil, everyone has the possibility of being clashed regardless of how hard their eight characters are, so this needs to be warned in advance.

  Most people's souls return on the seventh day, so in folklore this night of soul return is also called "the seventh", but in fact for those who understand the Tao, there is a lot to learn here. If you calculate it wrong or don't calculate it at all, something will go wrong.

  According to the year, month and zodiac of a person's death, calculate the so-called time for the soul to return home, and say that on the day of return, if there is an ominous omen, it is called "returning evil", otherwise, it is just an ordinary returning spirit.

  It also needs to be divided into several zhang and chi, with strict distinctions, which can be calculated according to the heavenly stems and earthly branches.

  For example, if a person dies on the day of Jiazi, his soul is 9 feet (Jia) plus 9 feet (Zi), so it's a total of 18 feet. This value represents the depth of the soul entering the ground. The greater the depth, the heavier the killing energy, and the shorter the time left, because it takes time to rush back; the smaller the depth, the lighter the killing energy, but the longer the stay.

  It so happened that He Lao's death occurred on the fourth day of the second month of the lunar calendar, which coincidentally was exactly one jiazi day!

  Humans have three souls and seven spirits; after death, the soul and spirit leave the body, with the spirit dispersing first, followed by the soul.

  Among the three souls, the earth soul is usually in the underground master yangshou, and the heavenly soul is often not in the body. Only the life soul is attached to the human body, usually referring to losing one's mind or spirit.

  After a person dies, the soul will sink into the ground, ranging from 1.8 to 9 feet deep. However, this earthbound spirit will rise after death, rising one foot each day. Therefore, for someone like He Lao who died on the first day of the sixty-day cycle, sinking 1.8 feet deep into the ground, it would take eighteen days after death for his soul to return.

  Therefore, the spirit of the deceased remains in the earth before their soul returns. On the night when the spirits return, people usually sprinkle some ash or powder at the place where the spirits must pass through and on the altar for offerings, then close the door to warn the living not to enter and disturb them.

  Until the next dawn, the time for the soul to return had passed, and then gathered all the people in the house, unlocked and entered to see if there were any handprints or footprints left on the ashes or powder, and thus knew whether the deceased's soul had returned.

  Cha Wenbin knew that He Lao's character was absolutely unquestionable, but after he died and drank the soup, his earth soul came out, and it was a case of six relatives not recognizing each other. So, there was still some fear in his heart, but this matter would eventually have to be explained to Chaozi, after all, on that day, there were too many things to pay attention to.

  Cha Wenbin thought for a moment and finally told Chaozi about the matter on the eve of his return, but since He Lao was from Wangzhuang, they would have to go back to Wangzhuang to take care of it.

  That morning, they all rushed over to set up early. Zha Wenbin also greeted the villagers and told them not to go out tonight if there's nothing important, and to close their doors and sleep early as soon as it gets dark.

  A big table of offerings was placed in front of the altar, and everyone had learned from the last time when the eldest son's grandfather came back to haunt. Today, all the people were cautious because during the "return of the spirit", that is, when the deceased spirit returns home, there should be no living person present. Why can't there be any living person? In fact, according to Taoist teachings, if there are living persons, the ghost will not enter upon hearing the noise; secondly, some people with "low fire" would see the ghost and easily get frightened.

  Zha Wenbin prepared incense, candles, paper money, pork cut into chunks, a bamboo stick, a table, eight stools, a sieve and ash from the stove, as well as firecrackers and fireworks. There were also two portions of steamed rice with the head facing downwards, a pair of chopsticks placed horizontally between two bowls, and on one side of the chopsticks was a raw egg.

  He first took that pillar, then pasted the money paper on the bamboo, one by one, until the whole thing was full, then borrowed a ladder and removed a tile from the roof, and the bamboo went out through that hole, kind of like an electric wire.

  This is done to facilitate the entry of He Lao and others, this time it will not come in from the main gate. Why? Because there are door gods on the main gate! So this time the soul basically comes from the window or the roof, if you encounter a house with unopened tiles, you can also lean this bamboo against the window.

  Then, prepare a table of wine and dishes, lay out eight stools, each with a money paper on it, which is used to provide for the yincha and He Lao. Since it's uncertain which stool they will sit on, all are laid out.

  This sieve is used to dry the ash from the stove, people living in rural areas all know that at that time, firewood was used for cooking, so there would be ash under the stove. In the past when there was no shampoo, it could be mixed with soap and He Shou Wu to wash hair, the effect is much better than those things advertised on TV now.

  After they finished dinner, Cha Wenbin put the ashes from the sieve on the stove and carefully sprinkled a layer under the bamboo, then along the path they would take, all the way to the front of the tribute goods and under the child, and other places they might pass through. Then, he tied a big rooster made of reeds to the gate. If anything unusual happened, he was ready to let Zhuo Xiong hit the chicken. As soon as the chicken crowed, the yin messengers would think it was dawn and immediately suppress the ghost back.

  Things were done this way, when the time was almost up, Cha Wenbin sealed all doors and windows, then drove everyone to the second floor, made two talismans of the Heavenly Master, sealed the door with them, and instructed him not to open the door until he was called.

  Then he went alone with Hei Zi to the foot of the grave mountain where Lao He was buried, waiting for the appearance of this old friend.

  Hei Zi grew more and more attached to Cha Wenbin, now wherever he went, it followed. Cha Wenbin stroked its head, remembering a bit about it, then casually reached into his pocket, but stopped, the sun wheel was gone, those memories were also gone.

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