Chapter 46

The lotus leaves and buds grow side by side, the buds bloom into lotus flowers; the lotus flowers reflect the sun, and the sun shines on the north and south branches!

As the petals of the cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

Eighth Master brought Zhenbao back to the room. Although he didn't need to see to know what Kong Feng had done, it was nothing more than a blood-soul resonance spell to find the host. Zhenbao immediately asked:

"Master, didn't you say that this kind of spell is harmful to the body and soul and should not be used on children? Why did that person still want to find a child? Is there some special reason for this?"

Eighth Master shook his head, somewhat angrily: "What special reason? That scoundrel Kong Feng just wants to take revenge on us. He's just making up excuses—no idea which senior's disciple he is, but his cultivation is so poor! Once we go up the mountain, I will definitely confront them about this. We can't let them tarnish the name of our sect!"

"Oh..." Zhenbao nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite. Suddenly, he remembered something: "Ah! Master, are we just staying here? Or should we go see the Second Young Master?"

He was still worried about the Second Young Master, fearing he might be at a disadvantage under the female ghost. Eighth Master thought that since there was nothing else to do and he couldn't follow Kong Feng to find the source, he might as well sneak into the inner courtyard to find the Second Young Master—the situation with the female ghost and the corpse was quite suspicious, and it might be the root of the strange occurrences in the family.

The inner courtyard of the Qin family was actually quite simple, just a large house built against the mountain. Upon entering the inner courtyard, there was a main hall and a side hall, and behind them was a courtyard. This courtyard was actually the middle of the inner courtyard, with the main hall facing outward, and the other three sides being the young masters' rooms, the maids' and servants' quarters, the inner storeroom, the kitchen, and the study.

On one side of the front courtyard was the entrance to the cave.

The young masters' rooms and the maids' and servants' quarters were naturally separate, with a corridor in between. The black-lacquered, carved doors were firmly closed, and there were maids and guards watching at the entrance. This was where the master lived, and where the two young Qin boys had lived in their childhood. According to Zhenbao, the old house was located behind the back courtyard, against the mountain wall, so they would have to go through this corridor to get there—the back courtyard was not easy to enter.

Eighth Master naturally didn't want to crawl through a dog hole like Zhenbao... Even if he wanted to, he might not fit. So he thought of a more convenient way, "Bao'er, do you think anyone is in the surrounding rooms?"

"Anyone?" Zhenbao scratched his head. "I don't think so! Someone just died outside, everyone has run inside to hide. Who would dare to come back and stay?" He nodded confidently. "I bet they're all empty, at most they took their money and left."

"I was thinking the same thing!" Eighth Master rubbed his face slyly and smiled. "I'll go find a servant's clothes, then I'll take you in through the main gate... With all the chaos, no one will check us closely, right?"

Zhenbao had no concept of Eighth Master's idea, so he just 'uh'ed and watched as Eighth Master left with a mischievous smile, sneaking into another room. After a while, he came out with a few gray-black servant's clothes in his hands.

While he was hurriedly changing, he heard the sound of chaotic footsteps outside. Peeking through the window, he saw Kong Feng and others approaching. A child with lifeless eyes was holding a compass and walking unsteadily in front, seemingly aimless, but turning and climbing without hesitation, as if guided by something.

Zhenbao slightly avoided the candlelight in the room and saw that the child's three fires were burning abnormally, with the life fire clearly higher than the others, using it to fuel the destiny and fortune fires. A drop of crimson was faintly visible on his forehead, surrounded by black smoke, which startled him. He was about to ask his master, but heard him sigh:

"Alas! A curse! I thought that after we left, Kong Feng wouldn't use a child for this spell, to avoid causing more harm. But that scoundrel did this just to cover up his lies, truly a disgrace to our sect! Unforgivable!—Once we return, we must report this to the master and make him pay!"

Zhenbao nodded obediently, then pointed at the child, somewhat worried, and asked again: "Will he..."

"It won't be anything serious!" Eighth Master shook his head, interrupting him. "This spell cannot be stopped or transferred, it can only run its course..." He thought for a moment. "...But the lifespan and destiny are predetermined. By accelerating the burning of the lifespan, Kong Feng is inviting retribution from the heavens!"

"Uh!" Zhenbao nodded again, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Seeing the people following the child in a long line, Eighth Master took Zhenbao and secretly followed at the end of the group. After a few steps, he saw a basket, picked it up, and put it on his back, then called Zhenbao to crawl inside. He leaned on a stick and followed at a distance. When everyone entered the inner courtyard, he quickened his steps to catch up.

Sure enough, no one asked any questions, and they easily entered the inner courtyard.

The child led the group to the cave in the courtyard. Kong Feng and his people gathered around, and the attention of everyone in the other courtyards was drawn to this spot.

Eighth Master saw this and secretly brought Zhenbao to the gate between the inner and outer courtyards. Seeing the two guards distracted, he sneaked up and tapped them lightly on the back of their heads!

The two guards felt a dizziness, and their vision turned black!

He gently placed the guards at the entrance, pushed open the gate, and slipped inside...

Earlier, Kong Feng had used nine magical ropes to seal the well and then rested and ate with the others. The two of them found the entrance to the old house—Zhenbao, with his limited experience, didn't understand the significance, but Eighth Master knew exactly what this place was.

A fleshy Buddha hall!

In the past, many prominent families, while outwardly conforming to norms, secretly set up such halls to enshrine corpses. These were known as fleshy Buddha halls. The corpses enshrined were not those of family elders or relatives, but of people who had died tragic deaths, whether by burning, drowning, beheading, disemboweling, or being crushed by vehicles or stones. The more tragic the death, the more suitable the corpse.

These corpses were sewn together, their internal organs removed and placed in jars, and their blood drained and mixed inside. The corpses were then mummified and enshrined in the hall, while the jars containing the organs were kept in the ancestral temple, protected by ancestral tablets and feng shui. From then on, the ghosts had a place to rest, and as long as they hadn't been reborn, they could be used by the family, either to guard the home or to cause mischief, all according to the master's commands.

Of course, if the ghosts disobeyed, their organs could be used as leverage.

This method was both benevolent and malevolent, a form of ghost cultivation. Whether used properly or not, it would have consequences, such as the disruption of yin and yang, leading to a cycle of cause and effect. Many families, after achieving success, wanted to abolish these halls... but once they tasted the benefits of the ghostly powers, few were willing to give them up.

Moreover, abolishing a fleshy Buddha hall was not easy, often requiring human lives to balance the karma, as the saying goes, "Ghosts guide the path of the living, and the living fill the void of the dead."

The Qin family's fleshy Buddha hall looked quite old, and it was considered very effective. However, the door frame and windows were badly decayed, and it appeared that they hadn't been repaired for at least a decade. There were traces of broken candles, incense, talismans, and ghost-repelling coins at the entrance—Eighth Master guessed that the Qin ancestors must have sought a high-ranking expert to deal with this, breaking the accumulated resentment, hatred, poison, gloom, injustice, death, misfortune, and evil, leaving only a dilapidated house.

It was a place for the ghosts who couldn't be reborn to have a place to stay.

Eighth Master gestured for Zhenbao to hide behind him, then approached the entrance and peered inside:

The room was quite deep, with the outer part used for worship, and the inner part, deep within the mountain, used for storing the corpses. The inner door was open, and the coffins were clearly visible, but there was no sign of the Second Young Master...

"Let's go in and take a look!" Eighth Master called Zhenbao out, and they entered the room together. He asked, "Bao'er, which coffin did you see first?"

Zhenbao looked around, seeing that each coffin was closed and arranged in rows. After thinking for a while, he hesitantly pointed: "That one, I think..."

"Good!"

Eighth Master didn't ask more, but took out a bundle of incense from his pocket, lit it, and placed it in front of each coffin, chanting:

"Man and ghost naturally take different paths, meeting is but a fleeting moment; if not destined to meet, meeting is in vain!"

He placed three sticks of incense in front of each coffin, and finally, he came to the one Zhenbao had pointed out. He lit a candle, placed it in front of the coffin, and tapped the lid three times, saying, "Open the door, enter the hall, bow and step, show respect!" Then he bowed and said, "Living opens the coffin, dead make way!"

He reached out to lift the lid, but just as he did, he heard a loud noise!

"Clang!"

The door between the inner and outer rooms had closed on its own!

Suddenly, the entire mountain cave was pitch black, with only the faint light of the incense and candles flickering!

"Master!" Zhenbao was scared and quickly ran to Eighth Master's side, grabbing his clothes and hiding behind him. He whispered, "Master, something came out, it looks quite powerful!"

Zhenbao, with his yin-yang body, could see in the dark, so he was right. Eighth Master didn't light a fire, but instead slipped a talisman into Zhenbao's hand and asked the surroundings:

"Everyone, I have shown respect and explained my reasons. Your treatment of me is not proper—please, let the main spirit come out and explain, what is the reason, what is the cause, to give me an explanation!"

As he spoke, a chilling voice echoed from the darkness:

"Man has his path, ghost has his way, this is true, but why does a living person meddle in the affairs of the dead?"

The voice drifted around the ceiling, impossible to pinpoint!

PS: Please vote and support! The annual list of supernatural works has been released, and it's not doing well! I don't ask for a top spot, but I hope for a decent number of votes. Everyone, please vote and support! [bookid=3037075, bookname=《迷墓仙踪》]

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