Heaven, earth, man, gods, ghosts, creatures with scales, fur, feathers, and insects
It refers to the Five Immortals and Five Insects. The Five Insects are actually five major categories, encompassing all things in heaven and earth, including humans, who belong to the category of Snake Insects.
The Five Immortals are ranked according to their strength and status. The order reveals their hierarchy, with the Ghost Immortal at the bottom, representing the lowest level among the Five Immortals.
Even disregarding immortals, among all things in the universe, ghosts are among the lowest in terms of quality, starting off poorly.
When a person dies, they become a ghost; a ghost is the remnant of a person.
When a living person encounters a spirit, it's immediately clear who is stronger. As long as the heart is free from fear, even fierce and evil spirits will have to avoid the living, but this is based on the premise that the person's yang energy is not disturbed or suppressed.
Once fear arises, the kidney essence fails to condense, and the yang energy becomes scattered. At that time, external evils can take advantage of the weakness and invade. These external evils do not specifically refer to spirits or ghosts, but also include pathogenic qi and strange qi that wander in the void.
In certain critical moments, most people's brains only hinder their bodies, and only a very few can remain calm. Most people, at this time, should let go of their brains and let their body's instincts take over, which may lead to better results.
— Careful observation reveals that almost all people with congenital mental deficiencies are physically stronger than those who appear to be normal.
A person's yang energy is disturbed internally by their mind and spirit, and externally it is also suppressed by the environment.
Mountains and rivers have form, and feng shui has power. Since ancient times, there has been talk of auspicious feng shui sites, and immortals even have the concept of blessed lands. However, conversely, there are also some special places.
These places are filthy and treacherous, accumulating filth that doesn't dissipate. They may not seem like a big deal from the outside, but once you step into them, your body's yang energy will be suppressed. Even a mortal would feel it clearly.
Fortunately, these special places are as rare as auspicious feng shui sites, and ordinary people will basically never encounter them unless they do something reckless.
But there is one thing that every living being must touch.
water!
Water is yin in nature. If a living person falls into water, it will result in them accidentally entering a place of yin evil. Their yang energy will be suppressed, and from the outside in, it will disturb their mind, cause fear, and dissipate their yang energy, making them even more vulnerable.
At this time, even ghosts and monsters that cannot harm people at night have an opportunity to take advantage of them.
In times of peace and prosperity, if people are harmed by evil spirits, it is mostly in the water. This is because it is a realm that the City God, worshipped by mortals, cannot enter.
"..."
After school, Feng Bingwen, carrying a small cloth bag, squatted by the famous Wolong Lake in Qingshan County, staring at the shimmering lake that stretched as far as the eye could see.
"Little kid, you've been squatting here for ages, what are you trying to do? Go paddle around in the water for a bit first. This old man advises you to behave yourself, there was a flood here early this morning!"
On the riverbank, an old man wearing a straw raincoat was rowing his fishing boat ashore. He noticed Feng Bingwen and kindly reminded him.
"I'm not going into the water, I'm just looking. I saw the person who drowned this morning, it was terrifying!"
Feng Bingwen stood up, dusted off non-existent dust from his clothes, and struck up a conversation with the fisherman.
"You little brat, you've got some nerve, running all the way here even though you saw it."
The old fisherman was slightly surprised, and answered while tidying up his fishing net.
"I heard them say that people who drowned were harmed by water ghosts? Is that true? Are there really water ghosts in this lake?"
Feng Bingwen blinked his large, dark, and bright eyes, like an innocent and extremely curious child.
"Of course there are! Otherwise, how could a perfectly healthy man drown in a lotus pond!"
The old fisherman shook his head, his face also showing a sense of melancholy and regret.
"Grandpa, are you so sure that he couldn't have accidentally drowned?"
In fact, it had already been confirmed that the person seen in the morning was Feng Bingwen, who was harmed by a ghost, and he was trying to extract information from the old man in various ways.
"Drowning? How?"
The old fisherman chuckled and pointed to a spot for Feng Bingwen. It was a lotus field in full bloom, where many lotus-picking women and lotus root harvesters could be seen working.
"See that? The water there is so shallow that even a baby like you wouldn't get up to your neck. That's where the guy you saw this morning drowned. If it weren't for some water ghost causing trouble, how could he have accidentally fallen in and drowned?"
"No, don't they know there were water ghosts harming people there this morning? Why are they still picking there?"
Following the old fisherman's direction, Feng Bingwen looked somewhat surprised. When he arrived at the riverbank, he saw the rather lively lotus field. It was a wild field that did not belong to any private individuals. As long as one had free time, whatever one picked was theirs.
“Hey, we poor folks can’t compare to a young master from a scholarly family like you. So what if there are water ghosts in the water? Everyone knows that. But will these water ghosts harm us? That’s not certain. But if we don’t go into the water, we’ll definitely be the ones who go hungry tomorrow.”
The old fisherman's words sounded somewhat harsh, but Feng Bingwen lowered his head and remained silent. His words just now had a hint of "Why don't they eat meat porridge?"
"But isn't this a golden age?"
Feng Bingwen looked up at the men, women, and children in the distance, who were practically scrambling to pick lotus pods and lotus roots in the water, and found it hard to understand.
It's the height of summer now, and even if these harvested lotus pods and roots were taken to the market, they wouldn't fetch more than a few copper coins, yet they risk being harmed by water ghosts.
"Of course it's a prosperous era. I haven't heard of anyone starving to death for many years. It's only during the coldest days of winter that I hear of a few useless old men freezing to death, which is already quite good."
A sigh appeared on the old fisherman's wrinkled, weathered face. His dark face looked content, as if he wanted to praise the peaceful and prosperous times he had encountered in his old age.
"How wonderful it would be if these good days could last forever!"
"Will people freeze to death in winter?!"
Feng Bingwen was filled with mixed feelings. He really wanted to say, what kind of prosperous era is this?
In fact, in feudal times, as long as there was no great famine, no large-scale displacement of people, and no starvation, it was a peaceful and prosperous era, a golden age worthy of being recorded in history and praised extensively.
"Little one, you're really born in a good world!"
The old fisherman, seeing that Feng Bingwen still seemed somewhat resentful, said this to him.
"If you were born in my time, tsk, that would be really tough!"
What did you have back then?
Feng Bingwen couldn't help but ask further, "The Daqian Dynasty has been established for over three hundred years, and historical records indicate that it has experienced two periods of revival. Now it is the third time, and the dynasty's prosperity is undiminished, showing signs of lasting strength."
"Floods, you've probably never seen anything like it before, little one. The water was overwhelming, surging in like a tidal wave. The town you see here is completely submerged. Only the mountain peaks are visible above the water, giving people a place to stand..."
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