Chapter 9

"Then what's wrong with my son?" My father knew that I was born at an extremely yin moment, but he believed that in such a large country like China, there must be others born at the same time. Why is it that only his son is plagued by a hundred ghosts?

"It just so happens that your son has a child's soul, and he was born at this specific moment. The soul of a child's soul is extremely powerful, and sometimes it can even result in a double eight character phenomenon. This means that the child's soul in his body has not fully merged with the original soul, forming a special double soul phenomenon, hence the double eight characters, or two eight characters! Simply put, the soul is yin, so the body must be yang. If the soul is too powerful, the person will be yin-dominant and yang-deficient. Being yin isn't necessarily a bad thing; at least the spiritual senses are very strong. The birthmark on the back of your son's head indicates that his spiritual senses are so strong that they have formed an eye. Moreover, with a powerful soul, he can easily perceive the world!" Old Jiang explained in detail, and my parents understood a bit, but not entirely.

Even so, my parents understood a little: their son's soul is yin, and he was born at a yin moment. How could this be anything but serious?

"What about my son...?" My mother was very anxious.

"His yang body is weak, so his physical condition is naturally frail. A child's soul is inherently fraught with many calamities and is generally difficult to raise. However, it's not unsolvable. Additionally, your son has attracted all the wandering spirits in the vicinity. People with a child's soul are naturally prone to attracting these spirits, especially given the time of his birth. A child's soul is unstable, and with a yin-dominant and yang-deficient condition, it's like the sky enveloping the earth, where yang is overshadowed by yin. Your son's body is very difficult to contain his soul, and those wandering spirits all want to take his place, as being human is far better than being a wandering spirit with no place to go!" My master explained all the issues in a few words.

"Master Jiang, you said you can save my son. Can you do it now?" My father was very anxious.

"No need to rush. A ritual needs to be performed to resolve your son's situation and drive away the spirits. I have just eaten meat and drunk alcohol, which makes it inappropriate for me to perform the ritual. I will stay at your place tonight, go up the mountain tomorrow morning to get some things, and then perform the ritual. Here, give this to your son to wear; it will alleviate the situation." My master took out an object from his pocket and handed it to my father.

My father took it and saw that it was about three inches long, a warm, oily yellow color, and had very sharp claws. The other end was wrapped in yellow metal with intricate patterns, and there was a small hole in the yellow metal through which a red string was threaded.

"Master Jiang, what is this?" My father couldn't recognize the object.

"Tiger claw! From a tiger that has been alive for over fifty years and has become a spirit. Give it to your son to wear." Old Jiang said casually, as if the object was nothing special to him.

My parents were farmers and couldn't understand how valuable a tiger claw was, especially one like this. Only my mother, who was sharp-eyed, noticed the yellow metal and hesitantly asked, "Master Jiang, is this gold?"

"Hehe." Old Jiang didn't want to say more and just smiled, then added, "This is what I should do. I have a long connection with your son. Put it on him for now."

My parents were puzzled but didn't dare to ask more. In folk beliefs, dogs are known to ward off evil, and evil spirits fear dog teeth the most, as they are said to bite the soul. However, cats are even more effective at warding off evil, but they are lazy and indifferent, so they don't bother much.

In general, evil spirits are merely wary of dogs but truly fear cats, especially their claws. Tigers are large cats and correspond to the White Tiger in the Four Symbols. Their claws are the best for warding off evil! Tigers don't live long, and a tiger that has become a spirit and lived for over fifty years is extremely rare. Only my master could obtain such an item, while ordinary Taoists couldn't find it.

My father put the tiger claw on me, and strangely, my breathing immediately became steady, and I no longer felt as if my neck was being squeezed. It was truly effective!

My parents became even more convinced of Old Jiang's abilities and treated him with the utmost respect. However, Old Jiang didn't accept their attitude this time and said, "Just treat me normally. We will have a long connection, and this attitude is inappropriate. Otherwise, I will leave."

Old Jiang's words became increasingly strange, and he didn't explain why. My parents were confused but didn't dare to ask more. They were afraid that Old Jiang would leave, so they had to pretend to be natural.

Old Jiang stayed at our house, but he wasn't interested in other things. For dinner, he only ate some vegetables, unlike his usual gluttonous self. At other times, he liked to hold me and examine me closely, occasionally chuckling, which made my parents nervous.

Just before bedtime, Old Jiang coldly said, "They are still gathering and not dispersing. They truly don't know their place. I will subdue them all tomorrow."

The next morning, my parents woke up early, but they found that Old Jiang was gone. He had said he would go up the mountain to get some things, but no one knew when he left. Strangely, I, who had always slept restlessly since birth, didn't make a fuss at all last night and slept soundly until they woke up.

My parents were happy and didn't think Old Jiang had run away. My mother had carefully examined the tiger claw pendant and confirmed that it was wrapped in gold. The most precious item in her dowry was a gold ring given to her by my grandmother, so she recognized gold.

Since he had given me such a valuable item and it was so effective, why would he run away?

Sure enough, as the sky was just beginning to brighten, Old Jiang arrived at our house. He looked different from usual, carrying a cloth bag and a bucket filled with water.

After putting down his things, Old Jiang said to my mother, "Boil water; I need to bathe and change clothes."

"Bathe and change clothes?" My mother was momentarily confused.

"Just take a bath and change clothes," Old Jiang said casually.

At Old Jiang's request, my mother boiled hot water for about an hour. Old Jiang asked her to prepare three containers of water: one for him to wash his body, one for me to bathe in, and the last one for him to bathe in.

This was quite complicated, and my mother couldn't imagine how many rules there were for Old Jiang to take a bath. While she was boiling the water, Old Jiang was mysteriously cooking something.

The water he used for cooking was the water he had brought himself. My father asked, "Master Jiang, what kind of water is that? Can't we use our water?"

"No, this is rootless water, which doesn't have the earth's qi. Special water is required for cooking the aromatic soup," Old Jiang replied, still not explaining much.

Old Jiang cooked two small pots of water, adding various ingredients during the process and constantly adjusting the heat.

When my mother had prepared the water as Old Jiang requested, he pointed to one of the pots and said, "This pot's main ingredient is white芷 (bai zhi). Mix it into the basin; it's for the little one."

"The main ingredient in this pot is peach bark, which I will use. Mix it into the large wooden tub."

My mother did as Old Jiang said and then asked, "Master Jiang, is it appropriate for such a small child to soak in water?"

"Hold him and make sure his whole body is submerged in this water. You can soak for a while, then rest, and soak again. Just add some hot water as needed. I will definitely be thorough with your little one. I don't easily cook this aromatic soup because it takes a lot of effort. White芷 (bai zhi) aromatic soup is excellent for warding off evil and removing the three corpses. Just follow my instructions." When it came to me, Old Jiang provided more explanations.

The peach bark aromatic soup he used for himself was made from the bark of a peach tree after the outer layer was removed. It was the best for refreshing the mind and preparing for the ritual he was about to perform.

Cooking the aromatic soup was not easy, with strict requirements for ingredients and heat control. The water had to be special, and it also required bath beans and honey soup. Old Jiang indeed put in a lot of effort.

Because he took this matter seriously, he even personally soaked in the aromatic soup to ensure everything went smoothly.