Chapter 33: Is the door-opening talisman a painting or a talisman?
The medicine and food that Shunian had brought earlier had all been spilled in the chaos. As he squatted on the ground with Renxin to clean up, he glanced at Tang You, who was standing in the distance talking with Chang Xile. Seeing a lively expression completely different from her usual expression, she said in disbelief, "I didn't expect Master-Aunt to have relatives."
"Nonsense." Renxin knocked his head in annoyance. "She didn't just pop out of a crack in the rock."
Shunian stuck out his tongue. Before, he'd truly believed that this remarkable woman, often mentioned by Master Nianci, was simply living alone in the world, free from worries.
In the distance, Chang Xile listened carefully to Tang You telling her about Yang Guisi's situation.
"She's possessed by a wandering mountain spirit. She's killing you to possess you and have you die in her place," Tang You said succinctly. "But it's actually not very clever. After killing someone, the body will decay. What's the point of stealing it? She looks so strong that even Renxin and the others can't handle her, but it's just because she's been in the world for so long that she's experienced."
Chang Xile found it difficult to understand the profound theory, so Tang You tried to use simple and easy-to-understand explanations. Even so, she was still stunned.
Although Chang Xile had occasionally encountered paranormal events before, she had never encountered such an aggressive ghost. She asked with lingering fear, "So, is it resolved now?"
It refers to whether the ghost of Yang Guisi disappeared after he was subdued by the talisman.
"No." Tang You turned and walked towards Yang Guisi's room, instructing Chang Xile, "There's still work to do. Find a place to rest first."
"Wait." Just as Tang You was about to leave, Chang Xile grabbed her wrist and asked, "Just before Gui Si passed out, I heard her call you Master?"
Tang You regained her usual indifferent expression, patted Chang Xile's shoulder, and asked, "Can you take seriously the words of a ghost who only wants human lives?"
Seeing her aunt, who once firmly told her, "There are no ghosts in the world, they're all tricks to trick children," now fluently spouting so many terms she'd never heard of, Chang Xile couldn't help but mutter, "Didn't you hide all this from me before, saying it was all fake?"
Tang You didn't seem guilty at all. She said calmly, "The river is rushing, and there are giant crocodiles lurking under the bridge. Looking at someone about to step onto the single-plank bridge, instead of blindfolding her and telling her it's a smooth road ahead, it's better to let her see it with her own eyes and walk it herself."
Chang Xile nodded as if he understood, and Tang You left on her own.
The next day, according to Shunian, Tang You and the others planned to exorcise the ghost for Yang Guisi.
He had originally brought snacks to Chang Xile, but now he took the mung bean cake she offered him with a smile, and while eating, he whispered to her, "But strangely enough, guess what I heard?"
Chang Xile withdrew the walnut biscuit he was about to hand him, narrowed his eyes and threatened: "Have you learned to keep me in suspense?"
Shunian chuckled and told her truthfully, "They say that Sister Yang has more than one ghost."
"What?" Chang Xile's eyes widened. "How many are there?"
Shunian made a two sign and found the right opportunity to take the walnut biscuit from the stunned Chang Xile.
"Never heard of it..." But then she thought, she had never systematically studied this subject, so it was normal for her not to know. So she asked the question that concerned her most, "What about two ghosts? Does that have any impact on exorcism?"
"Then I don't know. Probably not. If we encounter an evil ghost, we will all - snap, kill it on the spot." Shu Nian made a gesture of wiping his neck.
"What about the good ghost?"
"Send it for salvation." Shunian answered without hesitation, as if he was very familiar with the process.
Chang Xile nodded, and accurately grasped Shunian's hand as it reached for the pastry plate. Smiling, she said softly, "Okay, Shunian, your senior sister said that children shouldn't eat so many snacks before meals."
Shu Nian withdrew his hand awkwardly, feeling that Sister Chang's cold smile was somewhat similar to the hardworking senior sister he remembered.
Chang Xile brushed off the pastry crumbs on his hands, feeling secretly pleased in his heart - it turned out that Ren Qing's experience in raising children as a tutor was universal, and when it came to disciplining children, one had to be a little strict.
However, Chang Xile was very happy to see Shunian, who had screamed in fear when he first saw her, now so lively.
But it was clearly stated that Chang Xile was not allowed to go to the exorcism scene, and Shunian was responsible for watching her.
"Why?" Chang Xile didn't understand and paced around the room. On the one hand, she hadn't seen Yang Guisi all day and wanted to see her in person; on the other hand, she was also very curious about how Tang You and the others exorcised the ghost.
"Oh, Sister Xile, please sit down quickly. I'm dizzy from all the spinning around." Shu Nian sat on the chair, tilting his head to look at her, repeating what his senior sister had said to her, "We're both too weak. If something unexpected happens, they'll have to split their energy to protect us."
Chang Xilefu asked with deep heart, "Who said this?"
Shunian answered honestly, "Your aunt."
Three words: dragging one's feet.
Chang Xile fell silent. She sat back in her chair.
But she was still a little uneasy, her hands grabbing the hem of her clothes and then letting go from time to time. When she thought of Yang Guisi trying to kill her, her eyes suddenly changed, and he no longer wanted to kill her, but just called her "Sister Xile".
It was impossible for Yang Guisi to call her sister. Since Shu Nian said there were two ghosts there, could it be that another ghost appeared at that time?
Maybe that one isn't a demon? It's just that she appears so rarely and doesn't seem very powerful.
If a person's soul were to be destroyed just because it possessed a person, wouldn't that be too unfair?
She then asked, "Did they tell us which ghost was killed and which was liberated?"
Shunian shook his head. "I didn't hear that, but I guess both of them should be killed."
"Why?"
"There are three fires on people's shoulders. Do you think possession is a simple matter? They spend a lot of effort to stay on others, basically wanting to replace them. Can they be good ghosts?" After saying this as a matter of course, Shu Nian started cracking melon seeds again.
Chang Xile still felt uneasy. She stood up and said, "No, I have to go check it out."
Shunian didn't rush to stand up to stop her. Instead, he said slowly, "I told you not to go. Sis, you should sit down."
Chang Xile couldn't help laughing at his sudden seriousness while reading. "Did they send you to stop me?" With such a small body, who could he stop? Holding her thighs and saying, "Don't go!"?
He didn't finish his words, but the meaning was self-evident. Shu Nian immediately said angrily, "Just try and see if I can stop you."
Chang Xile had no time to tease him anymore, so she started walking towards the door. However, before her hand touched the wooden door, a yellow talisman flew from Shunian's direction and stuck right between the two doors.
Chang Xile pulled the door handle, but the wooden door didn't move at all.
I pulled again, but it still didn't move.
Hey, that's strange!
She grabbed the door handle with both hands, put one foot on the threshold, and pulled the door back with all her strength, but there was still no change.
It must be the problem with that talisman!
Chang Xile reached out to grab the talisman, but Shunian seemed to have anticipated this and had deliberately placed the talisman very high, so that Chang Xile could not reach it even if he jumped.
Now there was no way out. It was Chang Xile's turn to return to his seat in a huff and ask Shunian, "What kind of talisman is this?"
Shu Nian said succinctly: "The door-closing talisman."
"You can also write talismans?" Chang Xile folded his arms, crossed his legs and looked at him sideways.
"Of course! Don't look down on me. I don't fall behind in my studies every day, okay!" Shu Nian looked up proudly.
"Then why do you stick the talisman so high? What should we do if we want to go out later?" Chang Xile asked.
Shunian said casually, "Just write a door-opening talisman."
Chang Xile put down his crossed legs, became interested, and asked him, "Can you teach me how to write?"
"I'm stupid. I taught you how to write and then you left." Shu Nian didn't fall for her trick, but seeing Chang Xile slumped dejectedly on the table, he couldn't help but add, "Besides, drawing talismans isn't something you can do overnight. Even if you draw one according to the instructions, if the gods don't buy it, then the talisman is just a painting. It's useless."
Yang Guisi had also said this. Chang Xile looked at Shunian in surprise, thinking that this theory was common sense in their industry.
She pursed her lips and continued, "In that case, it wouldn't be a big deal if you taught me. It can't be learned quickly anyway."
"Well... okay then." Shunian scratched his head and thought about it. It seemed to make sense. It was his compensation for locking Chang Xile in the room.
He fished out a slightly wrinkled yellow talisman from his pocket and placed it on the wooden table, trying to flatten it with his palm. Chang Xile, already eager to try, asked him, "Do I need to bite my finger?"
"Why do you have to bite it?" Shunian said in a horrified tone. "You can just write with cinnabar or ink. Your body and hair are given by your parents, so they shouldn't be damaged. The method you mentioned of drawing talismans with blood is very effective, but it's very damaging to your body's vitality. We only use it in very urgent situations."
Generally speaking, they would draw the talismans in advance and select the ones that would be useful. This is because if someone lacks the skills to draw the talismans on the spot, they might not be effective. If they wait until the ghosts arrive and then hurriedly draw the talismans, they would probably be dead by the time they are finished.
"Okay, okay, Master Shunian, let's start teaching!" Chang Xile took the ink pen he gave her and urged.
Shunian was cautious. He didn't demonstrate on the talisman. Instead, he casually dipped some water from his cup and wrote a few incomprehensible, complex strokes on the wooden table. "I'll just write it once. Take a look before the water dries."
Chang Xile didn't say much. She concentrated on observing the water stains on the wooden table for a while, then picked up the ink pen and began to write and draw on the yellow talisman.
Unlike those people Shunian had met who liked to copy while looking, Chang Xile's eyes were focused on the talisman, and her strokes were completed in one go without any sense of stagnation.
Master has taught me more than once that sincerity is a very important element in reading talismans and drawing talismans to borrow luck.
You must truly believe that you can borrow it and not waver in the slightest.
After a few breaths, Chang Xile put down her brush. She picked up the yellow talisman she had just drawn and blew on it. She raised her eyebrows and smiled at Shunian, "Let's see whether this is a painting or a talisman, shall we?"
Shunian watched Chang Xile skipping towards the wooden door and sticking the talisman between the cracks in the door.
In fact, there is a sentence that Shunem did not tell Chang Xile.
When two talismans have conflicting effects, the one with greater power will take precedence.
Shunian felt that there was no need to tell her this piece of knowledge for the time being, because an ordinary person like Chang Xile, who didn't even believe in the existence of gods and Buddhas in the world last month, could never achieve the state of mind of drawing talismans that the master talked about.
If the talisman doesn't work, there's no need to talk about its power.
However, a ray of sunlight hit Shunian's face, making it difficult for him to open his eyes.
As far as his sight could reach, Chang Xile was half leaning against the open wooden door, smiling triumphantly at him against the light.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
