The Last Taoist

Chapter 4

Snatching the Soul

In the kitchen of my grandmother's house, the family looked at the exhausted Taoist priest and asked him what happened.

Wenbin looked at the expectant family in front of him, shook his head and said, "I'm afraid there will be trouble today."

When grandma heard him say this, she knelt down with a plop, followed by the third aunt and the younger uncle. Grandma cried and begged Wenbin: "Master, we didn't recognize the true god back then and drove your master away. Please don't blame us. Save my daughter. The doctor has already announced that the family should prepare for the funeral. We have no other way. Now we can only rely on you to save her. Our Xu family has been making coffins for people all our lives. We have never shorted people of wood or charged people more money. When we met poor people who couldn't afford to buy coffins, we also gave them a thin coffin. We have accumulated a lot of good karma. Why is her life so miserable!"

Wenbin quickly pulled up grandma and said, "Sister-in-law, I understand the master's affairs very well. He is very strange. Let alone you, sometimes I can't understand it. I don't blame you. It's just that your daughter's birth date is reversed. This year, there was a disaster, plus that night When passing by the reservoir, the little girl lacked water in her five elements, and was just encountered by the little ghost. According to my calculation, she should have died on the 15th of this month, and today is the 14th. Now the little ghost is still in the room, but I temporarily tied up the girl's soul with a fairy rope and sealed the exit of the house with a talisman. I guess the little ghost is still waiting to snatch the soul. "

Grandma was terrified when she heard this. She had heard about little ghosts snatching souls from some old people before, but this happened to her own daughter now. It would be a lie to say that she was not afraid, so she bravely asked Wenbin: "How many little ghosts are there?"

Wenbin held up two fingers: "Two, one boy and one girl, transformed by two children."

As soon as this was said, my grandfather's family had some clues in their minds. In the early years, there were two children in that reservoir who were touching snails and accidentally fell into the reservoir and drowned. Later, the adults in the village did not allow their children to play in the reservoir again. It was not until the reservoir was renovated that my cousin took me there to play.

Wenbin continued, "Those two children died in vain, so I have always wanted to drag two scapegoats. Maybe something will happen on the 30th of this month in your village, and it will be a boy."

Grandma asked if there was any way?

Wenbin said, "There is a way, but..."

Grandma thought he wanted some money, so she immediately took out a few "Great Unity" cards from home and handed them to Wenbin.

But Wenbin waved his hand and said, "Sister-in-law, go prepare red and green colored paper, and then make some food."

Grandma's family did have this colored paper, and the third aunt liked to cut paper, so after a while, the red and green papers were ready and spread on the table.

Wenbin said to the third aunt, "Take the scissors and cut out two sets of clothes, one red and one green, the size of a child's clothes, and the appearance is casual, as long as it looks like clothes."

The third aunt was timid, but she had a pair of skillful hands. After a while, two sets of small clothes were cut out and handed to Wenbin. Wenbin took the paper clothes and put them in a bamboo plaque, and told grandma to prepare six dishes, three meat dishes and three vegetarian dishes, plus two glasses of wine, two empty bowls, and two pairs of chopsticks on the bowls, all in the bamboo plaque.

When all this was ready, half an hour later, Wenbin put these things at the door of grandma's house, and then lit three incense sticks and two candles again.

When the incense burned out, a rooster suddenly cried in the chicken coop. Wenbin shouted "Oh no", rushed into his aunt's room, bit his middle finger, and tapped his aunt's forehead directly, and asked grandpa to catch the biggest rooster in the chicken coop.

Grandpa didn't dare to neglect it, and quickly brought the big rooster with reed catkins. Wenbin took the rooster, slashed it with a knife, and spilled the chicken blood around my aunt's bed. Then he left the room and walked to the table in front of the door where the last meal was placed. He closed his eyes and shouted, "Hey!" Then he took out a sword and a big seal from his bag of eight trigrams. The sword body was green and cold, and the appearance was simple and elegant. The connection between the sword body and the hilt was natural and on each side. The hilt was a eight trigrams diagram; the big seal was cast in bronze, about the size of an adult's palm, and engraved with: Taoist scriptures and teacher treasures! The Taoist priest held a sword in his right hand and a seal in his left hand, and began to chant a spell, just like the Jade Emperor descending to the earth. As he was chanting, his right hand suddenly trembled, and a flash of sword light appeared. He picked up a talisman on the table and pointed the sword at the aunt on the bed. With a "hiss", the talisman paper actually caught fire, followed by the second talisman. After the two talisman papers were burned, Wenbin took out a piece of ink-black paper and drew a spell with all his strength. Then he used the seal for the first time, pressed it against the black talisman, and pasted it in the aunt's room. This time, there were eight talismans, next to the eight talismans pasted before, and then closed the door and left.

Wenbin asked grandma and grandpa to take the two children to the reservoir, put the paper clothes and bowls they had prepared just now by the reservoir, and come back at dawn, and not to make any noise, not to look in the direction of home, and asked his uncle to bring the little black dog to him.

Grandma and grandpa took my third aunt and my uncle to the reservoir, holding a bamboo plaque. The two-mile walk that day was particularly long. Grandpa walked in front holding the plaque, and grandma walked behind with my third aunt and my uncle. According to Wenbin's instructions, they arrived at the reservoir dam, turned their backs to the direction of home, lit incense and candles, set up the dishes, and hid in the shabby little pumping room of the reservoir until dawn.

After dawn, my grandmother and her family hurried home. When they arrived at the door of the house, the door was open. Grandma took a big step in and saw Wenbin had fallen unconscious outside my aunt's door. Grandpa hurried in to see my aunt.

The aunt was lying on the bed, soundly asleep, without any abnormality. The two looked at each other and helped Wenbin to her room to rest. At this time, Wenbin woke up, very weak, and said to grandma: "It's okay now, let her have a good rest."

Wenbin slept almost until the next night and woke up at the same time as the aunt. When the aunt woke up, she said she was hungry. Grandma made egg noodles for the aunt, and the aunt ate it very happily this time.

Wenbin also got up to eat dinner. During dinner, grandma asked what happened last night. Wenbin said, "The two little ghosts heard the rooster crow and thought it was dawn, so they were ready to snatch the soul." He glanced at the two things beside him - the seal and the sword, and smiled bitterly, "If it weren't for these two things, I'm afraid they would have succeeded, but they left for now." After dinner, grandma respectfully served tea to Wenbin, and then took out a bundle of "Great Unity" and handed it to Wenbin. In the past, when people in the countryside held superstitious activities, they would invite a shaman or fairy lady, and they would give a red envelope after the event was over. Besides, it seemed that my aunt really had no major problems this time, so it was reasonable to give her a red envelope. Cha Wenbin smiled and waved his hands: "Sister-in-law, I don't do things for money, I can't accept your red envelope. People who practice Taoism are supposed to help others, and this is my job. Besides, my master and this child are also predestined. Money can't be accepted. If the ancestors know, they will blame me."

Grandma was unwilling to do that. This benefactor saved her daughter's life and refused to accept a penny. She really didn't know what to do.

Cha Wenbin took a sip of tea and continued, "But the child is fine. I'm afraid I have something to do tonight, so I can't go back alone tonight. The little ghost was the child's life, and I hurt his Taoism. Tonight is the night of the full moon, and the little ghost is very resentful. I guess he will come to seek revenge on me tonight. If my master is still alive, it will not be difficult to get rid of these two little ghosts, but my Taoism is limited, so I will ask my big brother to help me."

Grandpa quickly stood up: "If you have anything to do, just tell me, I will do it."

Cha Wenbin patted the head of the little black dog next to him: "I expect these two little ghosts will rob me on the road, big brother, please help me find three pig butchers to send me home. As long as I get home, these two little ghosts can't do anything to me."

Pig butchers see blood all year round and have a strong murderous aura. Ordinary little ghosts dare not cause trouble at all. Cha Wenbin needs three pig butchers to accompany him home, which shows that the two little ghosts this time are really not simple.