"The Book of Burial" says: "Burial is hiding, riding the vital energy. The yin and yang energies, when they are released, become wind; when they rise, become clouds; when they descend, become rain; when they move through the earth, become vital energy." As it is said, humans have human energy, ghosts have ghost energy, all things are generated by a single breath of energy. Wen Shu's main task in receiving this "white thing" from heaven was to guard the deceased person's "energy".

  Maybe everyone is still a bit unclear about this, so let me start from that noon.

  Because the night before, I and Lao Yi drank a lot of wine, but Lao Yi didn't get drunk because he drank my special nail polish remover, while I was done for, although I didn't drink too much, it was almost the same, because I still quite like the feeling of being drunk and dizzy, and I also don't want to suck on my own nails, so when I got home, I directly fell onto the bed and slept soundly.

  Fortunately, I was a bit dazed from drinking and the ghost girl in my dream didn't come to bother me. I slept comfortably until after 10 o'clock the next morning.

  I was woken up by a ringing phone, I picked it up and it was Zhang Yaxin calling. Since I had already apologized to her via text message when I was at home, she wasn't mad at me anymore. I was curious why this little girl called me, so I drowsily asked her: "What's up little girl, is today a holiday?"

  Because we often texted each other when I was at home, now we get along very well, this little girl's impression on me hasn't changed, just like my little sister.

  On the other end of the phone, Zhang Yaxin seemed quite happy and said to me: "Pig head, Sunday is definitely a day off, by the way, do you have time? Accompany me to buy a cat, I don't feel like moving myself."

  Buy a cat? Isn't that just having money to burn? There are plenty of stray cats on the streets, can't you just catch one and raise it? Why spend money on buying one? It's really something only rich people's daughters would do. I sat up in bed and said into the phone, "I'm saying little sister, today probably won't work out, I still have to go to work this afternoon. Oh right, don't you have Lao Yi's phone number? Can't you just give him a call? He seems to be on vacation anyway."

  On the other end of the phone, Zhang Yaxin heard that I seemed unwilling to accompany her and was a bit unhappy. She said: "What are you doing on Sunday? Is it because you have a girlfriend now and you'd rather spend time with your girlfriend than with your sister?"

  I couldn't help but let out a wry smile, I have a girlfriend who's a total airhead. If someone as flawed and imperfect as me can still manage to have a girlfriend, the apocalypse must be near. So, with a mix of anger and amusement, I said to her: "My little lady, don't even get me started, I do indeed accompany the opposite sex, but not women, rather female corpses."

  The Zhang Yaxin on the other end of the phone was clearly stunned, and she asked me, "Female corpse? Are you kidding me? Why are you talking about something so scary?"

  I told her about the work I had to do this afternoon, and after listening, she sighed and said to me: "Cui Ge, it's really hard for you. I think you and Yi Xingxing should find a decent job to do. It's not going to work out if you keep going like this. I know you have the ability, but if you keep going like this, people will collapse."

  To be honest, hearing this little girl say that, I do feel a warmth in my heart. I also know that what I'm doing isn't anything good, and those who eat "yin" food rarely have a good outcome - sooner or later they'll collapse. Moreover, now I increasingly feel that our line of work is no longer recognized by society. But it's too late for regrets now; I've already lost my way out, and my life isn't even secure yet. Let's talk about this again after I've secured my safety.

  So I smiled wryly into the phone and said, "Sorry to trouble you, sis. Maybe next time, okay? You listen, call Old Yi for me, he'll definitely accompany you."

  On the other end of the phone, Zhang Yaxin said obediently: "En, Ge Crui, take care of your body. If you encounter any more dangerous things, if they have nothing to do with you, it's best not to get involved, got it?"

  I forced a smile and said into the phone: "Alright, sis, when have I ever interfered with other people's business?"

  On the other end of the phone, Zhang Yaxin sighed and said to me: "Actually, I know that saying these things is useless, because I understand your personality too well."

  We chatted for a few more sentences before hanging up the phone. I got up from my chair, wearing my four-cornered pants, took out a cigarette from the table and lit it, puffing on it with my mouth, thinking to myself, she said she understands me? Isn't that a joke? Growing up all these years, I don't even understand what kind of person I am.

  After washing up, I cooked a packet of instant noodles and ate them. After finishing, I looked at my watch and saw that it was almost 12 o'clock. So I put on my clothes and went downstairs to take the bus to Fuzetang.

  Pushing open the door of Fuzetang, I saw that today Wen Shu, this old fellow, unexpectedly didn't have a fight with the landlord, but was wearing a black and decent Zhongshan suit sitting at the reception desk smoking. Seeing his explosive head combed with a lightning-shaped part, it seemed like he had even applied hair gel, looking shiny and oily. I thought to myself, how did this old swindler dress up so fashionably today?

  He saw me coming and beckoned me over, I sat opposite him, he began telling me about the importance of today's task.

  It turns out that today's employer is quite influential, and according to Wen Shu, he seems to be the big boss of that company, with a lot of money, having donated several Buddha statues to Fuzedao Temple, and even asked Wen Shu to help him select a good location for his ancestral tomb. Anyway, he didn't spare any expense, and is one of Wen Shu's biggest clients.

  But as the saying goes, "one name, two fortunes, three feng shui", if one's fate is bad, what's the use of seeking more blessings? It seems that this family was destined to lose their child. Just yesterday, the daughter of this big boss met with an accident and died in a car crash.

  It is said that the deceased was in a miserable state, with his right leg broken, several ribs fractured and pierced into his lungs, and massive bleeding, which was unbearable to look at.

  Wen Shu said that this girl is about the same age as me. Just over twenty, at the most tender age, unfortunately, she died like this. Her parents only have one child and are crying uncontrollably, but they also have to accept reality, let their daughter go with dignity. So they called Wen Shu for help with the funeral arrangements. And Wen Shu agreed with his usual compassionate heart.

  After listening, I cursed in my heart: You old swindler, saving all living beings is fake, taking advantage of the opportunity to make money is true, it seems that this family has handed over all the procedures for handling white affairs to you. There's a lot of oil and water in here, and when the time comes, you'll definitely be able to cut a big ticket. Alas, this old swindler, when will his greediness end?

  This old swindler, although he understands all the tricks of cheating and deception, also knows some superficial things. After all, if he only knows how to brag, one day he will be exposed. This old swindler seems to have read some "Burial Classics" and "Kun Dao Secret Books", and has a rough understanding of things like the day of mourning, the day of funeral, and the day of resurrection.

  He knew that handling the aftermath of this woman's sudden death would be a bit troublesome, and if not handled properly, it could bring bad luck to both families involved.

  An old book says: A guest's death in a foreign land scatters his soul, yet his spirit still lingers among the people of this world.

  In the end, women are really hard to deal with, and female ghosts are even more difficult to handle, especially those who died unjustly. This is not considered a good death, and these people have no chance of reincarnation. Their resentment is extremely strong. If they are not properly pacified, they will be unable to move on to the afterlife. At best, this will affect the fortunes of their families; at worst, it's possible for them to become vengeful spirits that harm people.

  Although Wen Shu was not clear about the matter of the Yin market, he also understood the principle of 'one watch to prevent wind, two watches to avoid extinguishing lights'. So he didn't dare to be careless and told me about the many things to do tonight.

  He's an old man who doesn't even know where he learned this secret technique, and when he told me, I thought it was a scam. He said that tomorrow is the funeral, but tonight is unlucky, so the family can't stay overnight, only the two of us will go to keep vigil, the long-life lamp must be kept lit at all times, the coffin must have a soul-guarding chicken next to it, and most importantly, we must pay attention to time every half hour, burn paper and kowtow until dawn.

  After listening to him, I had nothing but contempt for him in my heart. Originally, without this diamond, you shouldn't be involved in ceramics at all, what exclusive skills, it's purely deceiving people! Who would believe that?

  You don't think about it, which family has a death, and the people in the house don't stay to keep vigil? Let outsiders come to keep watch? Isn't this a joke? Burning paper and long-life lamps are quite normal, but you can't burn every half hour, you know that the deceased woman is now in a state of confusion, who are you burning those papers for?

  Here's the translation:

  "This is to say that people who have just died are not yet aware of their own death. It isn't until the soul-summoning or three days have passed that they will come to believe they have left the world behind. This period of time is called the 'hun-mei' (bewilderment) stage. During this time, if a ghost's environment is not suitable or it has taken a wrong step, it is most likely to become an evil spirit or vengeful soul."

  The yellow-robed female ghost I encountered earlier was a case of sudden death, and the sin of sudden death is too great to be guided by the god of impermanence. Fortunately, although it was born in darkness and died in darkness, its heart still held a strong attachment to that scoundrel Dong Sizhe, so it only temporarily became a wandering soul without turning into an evil spirit. However, when the building was about to be demolished, the stimulation caused it to lose its mind and kill people.

  To put it simply, the reason it became a malevolent spirit is because of the 'qi' being disturbed. Because the building was demolished and the surrounding environment changed, that's why it went crazy. Tonight, as long as we ensure that the corpse of the little girl who died doesn't come into contact with external qi, there will be absolutely no problem.

  As for Wen Shu's set, it's a fart in the pants, you know that dead woman still can't tell east from west, what grievances would she have? It's not auspicious either, family members don't even let me stay at home, ugh.

  But what can I do, after all he is my boss? As a small horse (employee), I have to listen to him. When he says east, I don't dare say west; when he says catch dogs, I also don't dare steal chickens. It's just that I'm suffering, sigh... another sleepless night ahead of me, not only do I have to face the coffin all night, but also burn paper and kowtow every hour.

  Where can I go to reason with him?

  "Uncle Wen told me to take care of everything and then asked me, 'Xiao Fei, do you understand? Remember, this is a big deal today, don't mess it up for me. If you succeed, I'll give you a 200 yuan bonus this month.'"

  Two hundred? So that means my salary for this month is only twelve hundred? I have an urge to cry, damn it, I didn't think I'd be facing a night's work with a dead person just worth two hundred.

  Wen Shu saw me looking so unhappy and said, "What's wrong? Don't want to? Alright, alright, I'll add 50 more. How about that?"

  I looked at Uncle Wen with a mixture of laughter and tears, thinking to myself, "It seems like this old rascal really takes me for a fool!" But no matter how much I think about it, it won't change anything. What needs to be done still has to be done, after all, I still have to make a living, don't I?

  Forget it, just treat it as an experience, damn it.

  It was just that at that time I didn't think that this experience would be so thrilling and exciting.