Chapter 10

Old Mr. Jiang spent two whole hours bathing this time, not only washing himself meticulously but also specially shaving his beard, combing his hair, and soaking in a hot bath for an hour.

Finally, after he was all done, Old Mr. Jiang actually put on a Taoist robe, and his entire demeanor had changed dramatically. Where was the trace of the lecherous old man? If someone didn’t know him, they might think he was a middle-aged Taoist priest, and he gave off a sense of credibility, making people feel that this person had a profound inner world.

"Move the table to the courtyard, I need to light incense and perform the ritual!" Old Mr. Jiang said loudly, standing in the courtyard.

After Old Mr. Jiang gave the order, my parents didn’t dare to be negligent. They hurriedly carried the square table from the main room out. Because of the rush, their steps were not synchronized, and they almost fell over, showing their eagerness.

After the table was set up, Old Mr. Jiang took the cloth bag he brought, pulled out a yellow cloth, and neatly spread it on the table with a shake of his shoulders. My father couldn’t help but exclaim, "What good skills!"

Old Mr. Jiang, however, didn’t care and just turned to my father and said, "When I perform the ritual, don’t shout. The ritual requires concentration. If you shout, I’ll break the spell, and then you’ll have to perform the ritual."

My father, who didn’t know anything about performing rituals, quickly shut his mouth after Old Mr. Jiang’s playful 'threat.'

After Old Mr. Jiang instructed my mother to bring the things she had prepared yesterday, he took out a small, exquisite stove, a stack of gold paper, and incense from his bag, and arranged them in a specific way.

Then he took out some paper-cut figures, such as soldiers and horsemen, and placed them in specific positions.

At this time, my mother brought a tray with a plate of steamed buns with red dots in the center, a plate of fruit (only green tangerines), and a cup of tea for Old Mr. Jiang.

Old Mr. Jiang placed everything, and finally, he took a bowl of clear water from my father, completing a simple ritual altar.

Actually, my master himself was not a big fan of setting up ritual altars. He often simplified things, which was a difference between private lineage and famous sects. He was more casual in many details.

As for the paper-cut soldiers and horsemen, although he had refined them, his strength did not lie in this area, so he rarely used them.

The main purpose of setting up the ritual altar for my master was to show respect to the Taoist ancestors. It was necessary to worship devoutly before performing the ritual. Additionally, he had to submit a petition before making hand seals.

After setting up the ritual altar, my master took out nine incense sticks, lit them, and bowed respectfully three times before inserting them into the incense holder.

Then, he slowly paced around the courtyard, finally choosing a spot and digging a small hole. After digging the hole, my master took out a handful of black and white stones from his cloth bag.

These stones were not particularly special, but upon closer inspection, they were very smooth, with a patina that could only be produced by frequent handling.

Holding the stones, my master walked around, occasionally stopping and dropping a stone. He walked through the courtyard and the room, and finally stopped at the courtyard gate, dropping several stones.

After doing this, my master walked back to the small hole he had dug, took out a copper coin, thought for a moment, and put it back. Then he took out a crudely carved jade, and after some thought, he sighed and placed the jade in the hole.

My mother, seeing this magical scene, couldn’t help but ask my father in a very low voice, "What do you think Master Jiang is doing?"

My father, who had seen a similar thing done by an old Taoist at someone else’s house when he was a child, also whispered to my mother, "When I was a child, I heard the old people in the village say that this is setting up an array."

Actually, my father wasn’t too sure, as he didn’t know if the old Taoist he saw had real skills. But this time, he was right. My master was indeed setting up an array, a soul-locking array.

The copper coin and the jade were both magical tools that my master had carefully nurtured. He ultimately chose the jade because it was relatively gentle, while the copper coin was extremely harmful to ghosts and spirits, mainly because it had been passed through many people’s hands and carried a lot of positive energy.

Taoists generally advise, drive away, or subdue ghosts, but they do not easily destroy them. After all, the complete destruction of a soul is the most tragic thing in the world. If someone is directly and maliciously made to suffer such a fate, it is the greatest sin.

Heaven has a benevolent nature, and my master did not want to violate this principle. The original intention of this array was only to lock the wandering spirits in the courtyard and prevent them from escaping.

After setting up the array, Old Mr. Jiang began to close his eyes and gather his spirit. Standing there, he seemed a bit blurry, which was the result of gathering his qi and calming his mind, making his presence less noticeable.

After a short while, Old Mr. Jiang opened his eyes, and at that moment, his aura suddenly burst forth. Then, with a speed that made my parents’ eyes blur, he formed a hand seal.

The hand seal looked very complex to my parents. As they described it, they couldn’t even tell which finger was which, as they were intertwined in a strange pattern.

As the hand seal was formed, my parents noticed that Old Mr. Jiang began to mutter, speaking very quickly and in irregular phrases. His eyes were intensely focused, showing that he was fully engaged in what he was doing.

Finally, Old Mr. Jiang shouted, "Form the array!"

Instantly, my parents felt something fall at the center of the array, a very unreal sensation. Then, the entire house gave off a mysterious and self-contained aura.

Setting up the array required inviting the array leader to stabilize it, which was the key. Inviting the array leader required the coordination of Taoist techniques, incantations, hand seals, and mental concentration. The success depended on the skill of the person setting up the array.

The incantations used are unique to Taoism, divided into 'blessings' and 'curses.' Blessings are used to empower oneself, while curses are used during rituals. These incantations are not recorded in texts but are passed down orally, with the understanding and explanation of the teacher, making them extremely mysterious.

As for the hand seals, they are the seals Old Mr. Jiang formed, a complex skill. An ordinary person might break their fingers trying to form them, and even if they managed to do so, they would only have the form without the unique spirit of the seal.

Mental concentration, in simple terms, is focusing one’s mental energy on a specific thought. When Old Mr. Jiang was inviting the array leader, he had to focus all his mental energy on the array leader, which is essentially the application of mental power.

Unintentionally, Old Mr. Jiang demonstrated true Taoist secrets, the mystical techniques of the Mountain Sect, in front of my parents!

After forming the array, Old Mr. Jiang relaxed, showing no signs of fatigue. His eyes were bright and his expression calm, as if the soul-locking array was child’s play.

After slowly drinking a mouthful of tea from my mother, Old Mr. Jiang walked to the ritual altar, took out a talisman pen, a box of cinnabar, and a stack of yellow talisman paper, but made no move.

At this moment, I started crying and fussing inside the house. Old Mr. Jiang lightly exclaimed, turned toward the direction of my fussing, formed a hand seal, lightly touched his brow, and closed his eyes for a long time before reopening them.

This time, Old Mr. Jiang’s expression showed a slight fatigue. He said, "There’s actually another extremely fierce entity? I didn’t notice it yesterday without opening my heavenly eye. It’s trying to counterattack fiercely now that it sees me forming the array?"

Old Mr. Jiang’s normal voice was heard by my parents standing nearby, and their initially relaxed mood became tense again.

But Old Mr. Jiang wasn’t nervous. He walked to the ritual altar, put the stack of yellow talisman paper back in his bag, and this time took out several blue talisman papers, his expression becoming more serious.

After his fatigue subsided, Old Mr. Jiang asked my mother for a small dish and carefully mixed the cinnabar.

After mixing the cinnabar, Old Mr. Jiang placed his hands behind his back, closed his eyes, and began to mutter.

This time, he was reciting a general calming incantation, nothing special, but before drawing the talisman, it was crucial to have a calm mind and complete the task in one breath. Before this, he had to adjust his state of mind to the most tranquil state.

After all the preparations were done, Old Mr. Jiang picked up the talisman pen, which was saturated with cinnabar, took a deep breath, and then decisively put the pen to paper. He held his breath until the talisman was completed, then slowly exhaled.

To avoid distraction while writing the talisman, one generally recites a mental incantation and holds their breath, focusing on the skill of completing the task in one breath. During this process, mental power is transmitted from the talisman pen to the paper, and at the final stroke, a special incantation is used to give the talisman 'life' or activate it.

Drawing talismans was Old Mr. Jiang’s strength, and even though it was a blue talisman, it didn’t seem too difficult. After completing the talisman, Old Mr. Jiang put down the pen and left the talisman on the table to dry.