Chapter 967 The Returnee's Notes 41

"Meow--"

Black Egg clearly preferred cat food and immediately threw away the dead snake.

Xie Ning was quite impressed. She felt that her cat was quite the hunting expert. A few days ago, some birds were chirping outside her window, and the next day they were in the cat's stomach.

Since she hadn't brought any books, Xie Ning picked up some dry branches and practiced swordsmanship on the open ground while the old lady was making the sword. It wasn't the swordsmanship she had learned in her previous life, but rather a few moves that the old lady had taught her, requiring her to use the sword with special hand seals.

Xie Ning doesn't know many hand seals yet, but everything starts from the basics, so she's not in a hurry.

The old lady sat in front of the door, and could see Xie Ning's figure as soon as she looked up. The black cat next to her came over and snuggled up next to her, swishing its tail back and forth, quite affectionate.

The making of a peach wood sword is naturally not that simple. After completing the overall carving, it is also necessary to draw lightning. In Xie Ning's eyes, this is a very magical thing. A person can actually draw lightning into the sword with just a hand seal.

Xie Ning secretly practiced the gestures a few times, and while the gestures were correct, nothing happened.

It seems my skills are still lacking.

Besides summoning lightning, the old lady also placed a curse on Xie Ning's peach wood sword, saying, "I hope it can protect you. The sword is spiritual, so I hope you will treat it well."

"certainly."

Ghosts are of the extreme yin nature, formless and without substance, and can be pierced by swords. Peach wood is also of the extreme yin nature, which is why it can come into contact with spirits. Therefore, many people use peach wood swords to fight against ghosts.

Peach wood is also said to ward off evil spirits, but not all peach wood can do so. Only peach wood that has been consecrated can ward off evil spirits. Otherwise, due to its extremely yin nature, it is easy to attract ghosts and harm oneself.

Since the old lady made this peach wood sword for Xie Ning, she must make Xie Ning recognize it as his master. The method is simple: either hair or blood can be mixed in to make him recognize it as his master.

Then, simply place it before the statue of Laozi and offer it for three days.

Before leaving, Xie Ning and the old lady reinforced the formation, burying some drawn talismans in specific places to create a maze that ordinary people couldn't enter and ghosts couldn't get close.

During this trip into the mountains, in addition to making a sword for Xie Ning, the old lady also forged a sword blank for Wang Heng. When Wang Heng first faced Ding Ai in S City, his peach wood sword cracked because he was no match for her, which shows how strong Ding Ai was.

That's why Wang Heng couldn't understand Ding Ai's intention in letting him go at first, since Ding Ai was capable of killing him.

Even Old Wang had to be careful around vengeful ghosts born from deep resentment.

Speaking of this, the old lady sighed, "People are always afraid of ghosts, but I don't know what they are afraid of."

"Some people are afraid because they feel guilty, but more people are afraid because of the unknown. The existence of ghosts is inexplicable. Of course, there is also the fact that ordinary people cannot deal with ghosts... In the end, what people fear is not ghosts, but death."

The old lady turned her head to meet Xie Ning's gaze. "Do you think evildoers would be afraid of ghosts out of a guilty conscience?"

Xie Ning shook his head. "It's only a part of it. Some people who do evil things... are not afraid of gods or ghosts."

Are people afraid of ghosts? No, sometimes ghosts are afraid of people too.

“You’re right. A truly ruthless person is one who fears nothing.” Humans are born with a fear of death, which is why they revere ghosts and spirits. If one is not even afraid of death, then there is no such thing as gods or ghosts.

Xie Ning followed the old lady's steps, pondering the complexities of human nature.

If we disregard the existence of real ghosts, meaning that real ghosts do not exist, Xie Ning believes that the description of ghosts in books is mainly for the sake of social stability, because people will restrain their behavior when they have fear.

They feared ghosts, were afraid of punishment, and worried about moral condemnation.

This was a direction she had never considered before.