Chapter 23: Summoning the Soul

I did not let any outsiders in, leaving only the old man to handle the preparations. He suffered for it, drenched in sweat from head to toe. Previously, whenever the old man broke a sweat, he was merely faking it in hopes of squeezing out more money, but this time, he truly put in the effort.

"Young Master Jiang, could you count these and see if anything is missing?" the old man asked.

"Nothing is missing. Set up the gear now; I am going to start drawing the talismans. Remember, no matter what happens, you must not interrupt me!" I commanded in a low voice.

Drawing talismans requires a single, continuous stroke. One must never stop halfway, or the talisman will be ineffective. Do not assume that drawing talismans is simple. When crafting a genuine talisman, you will feel an immense, hidden resistance—a force that is incredibly strong. It drains not only physical strength but also one's vitality and spirit.

The old man followed my instructions, quickly moving the items from his cart and arranging them: the altar table, incense burner, offerings, and more. As for me, I leaned over the table, brush in hand, dipped it in cinnabar, and began to draw. Each time the brush touched the paper, my right hand felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, as if sinking into a quagmire, making every stroke an arduous struggle.

Before I had even finished one talisman, I was soaked in sweat, as if I had just completed a strenuous workout. This was a genuine Demon-Suppressing Talisman, and it was exceptionally difficult to execute. Even established, long-practiced Taoist masters would likely struggle to craft such a piece.

The next was the Yin-Yang Talisman. Heaven and earth are divided into Yin and Yang, as is the human body. By using the Yin and Yang of the talisman, I could mask a person's presence to avoid startling Chen Kai’s soul. This talisman was much simpler than the previous one, and I finished it in an instant.

I handed the Demon-Suppressing Talisman to the old man, Zhang Yuxuan, and gave the Yin-Yang Talisman to the young woman.

"Both of you, take your positions immediately. Zhang Yuxuan, stand by the lake. If that evil entity rushes out, use the Demon-Suppressing Talisman to suppress it." I then turned to the woman, who was already adorned with the Yin-Yang Talisman and the paper bearing Chen Kai’s birth date and time. "As for you, do not move under any circumstances."

"You are a beacon. If you exhibit the scent of a living person, even if you are Chen Kai's girlfriend, his soul will be frightened away. Do you understand?" I barked at them.

"No problem!"
"I understand!"
They both replied in unison.

"Open the altar, begin!"

I let out a loud shout, brandishing a bell and scattering a handful of spirit money into the air. "Vast are heaven and earth, joyous are the living and the dead. At the gate of life, Chen Kai, return quickly!"

I scattered another handful of spirit money into the air. Then, I lit a stick of incense and inserted it into the burner. This was the Soul-Guiding Incense, used to summon Chen Kai’s soul.

"Chen Kai, return quickly!" I shouted again.

The calm surface of the lake finally showed a ripple. A black figure appeared on the water, its eyes glowing with a ghostly green light.

"Ding-Chou, Ren-Zi, Jia-Shen, Chen hour... Ding-Chou, Ren-Zi, Jia-Shen, Chen hour..." the woman murmured. Reciting Chen Kai's birth details was meant to give him a sense of familiarity so he wouldn't be afraid.

The black figure began to drift toward us. Both the old man and I let out a sigh of relief. As long as Chen Kai’s soul could return to his body, the problem would be manageable.

"Keep guiding him, don't stop!" I urged softly. At this stage, the process could not be broken; once the guiding was interrupted, there would be no chance for Chen Kai to return.

"Damn it, this isn't Chen Kai!" halfway through the guiding, as the black shadow emerged from the lake, the old man noticed something was wrong.

"Don't panic! Zhang Yuxuan, don't let it in, or it will seize Chen Kai's flesh!" I ordered quickly. I knew it wouldn't be that easy. I turned around and continued shaking my bell. "Vast are heaven and earth, joyous are the living and the dead. At the gate of life, Chen Kai, return quickly!"

Not far away, hundreds of glowing green eyes suddenly appeared in the lake. The old man was so terrified he nearly collapsed to the ground. A ghost or two would have been manageable, but there were hundreds! Even I felt cold sweat breaking out across my body.

"Stay calm, don't make any mistakes," I reminded the old man, and myself as well. "Close your eyes, and don't open them," I told the woman.

I increased the tempo of the bell and began to chant. Minutes later, a figure suddenly appeared directly in front of the altar—it was Chen Kai's soul. As soon as he stepped within three meters of the altar, he began to tremble uncontrollably.

On the other side, the hundreds of green eyes in the lake seemed restless. A few of the spirits were already stirring, intent on rushing toward the altar.

"What are you waiting for? Suppress them!" I roared at the old man.

The shout snapped the old man back to his senses. The talisman in his hand moved without a breeze, drifting toward the lake. In an instant, like a giant net descending from the sky, the ghosts floating on the water were forced back down. A wind seemed to rise, sweeping the spirit money from the ground and carrying it toward the lake. Even in death, these ghosts were greedy.

More than half of the green eyes vanished, but dozens remained, still fixated on Chen Kai’s body. With his soul having just left, his body was still useful to them; to those wild ghosts, it was like a traveler in a freezing storm finally seeing a warm cabin.

"Chen Kai, what are you waiting for? Return to your body at once!" I scolded the soul. It was moving too slowly, and delays lead to disaster. Under my stern command, the soul, which was already frightened and trembling, suffered a minor injury. It seemed to want to flee, yet it dared not leave.

Driven by my voice, Chen Kai's soul returned to his body. I lunged forward, tore the paper containing his birth details from the woman's forehead, and slapped it onto Chen Kai’s body.

"For the next two days, it is best to have him drink ginger water to expel the cold. Avoid greasy foods, and above all, do not let him be startled. If his soul leaves his body again, not even the gods could save him," I instructed the woman.

I then turned to the old man. "This place is too sinister. Exorcism is out of the question; these hundreds of ghosts would work us to death, and we wouldn't be finished by next year."

"Then, Young Master Jiang, what do you suggest?" the old man asked, confused.

"Suppression. The old method: keep these evil things trapped in the water and don't let them out to cause trouble," I said. "I thought the Feng Shui here was good, but it seems I was mistaken. No matter how good the Feng Shui is, when hundreds of wild ghosts are lurking about, it becomes a cursed land. That rock in the center of the lake is definitely the source of the problem!"