I pondered this; it seemed his obsession lay in waiting for his lost daughter to return home.
That lamp must have been the guiding light he lit for his daughter.
Judging from his condition, it was clear that he had been waiting for many years, and his daughter would probably never come back.
"What is your daughter's name? What does she look like?"
I continued to ask questions, trying to get more information.
Li Huai, who was standing next to me, tugged at my sleeve and whispered in my ear:
"Brother Yan, we're not police officers, and we're not putting up missing person notices. We can only stay in this ghost realm. Even if you find out our names or what we look like, it won't help us."
I rolled my eyes at him, annoyed.
You don't know anything! If you want to break his obsession, you should at least pretend to want to help him find his daughter!
If you don't ask any questions, how can people believe you?
The old man suddenly fell silent, whether because of my question or because he had heard Li Huai's words, I don't know.
He became like a statue again, except that the hand holding the oil lamp was still trembling slightly.
"He's not saying anything more." Luo Tianhe glared at Li Huai, feeling that the kid would only make things worse.
"It must be because the obsession is too deep, and communication has been blocked." Master Zhang Qingxiao frowned. He wasn't that close to us and didn't hear Li Huai's words.
"Knowing about his obsession isn't enough; we must resolve it! But his daughter is probably no longer alive. She might even have been reincarnated. How can we address this?"
Master Zhang Qingxiao also showed a rare look of worry, after all, this old man had been dead for many years, and judging from his clothes, they were similar to those of the Qing Dynasty.
I nodded. Indeed, it was a dead end.
If his daughter doesn't come back, the lamp can't be extinguished. But the lamp oil, or rather his soul power, is gradually running out. At that time, he will probably fall completely into obsession and become a vengeful ghost.
I stared at the pale green oil lamp and suddenly remembered an anecdote my grandfather had once told me.
There was a mother, just like this old man, obsessed with finding her abducted son. Her life was one of utter loneliness and misery.
Even after her death, her obsession remained, and her spirit continued to search for her son.
Although she didn't harm anyone, ask yourself, who wouldn't be scared if an old woman dressed in funeral clothes stopped them on the street late at night and asked if they had seen her son?
Later, a wandering monk passed by and, after hearing her story, decided to convert her to Buddhism.
But he arrived very late, and the old lady's son, like the old man's daughter, was probably no longer alive.
Somewhat helpless, the monk gave up on helping her find her real son. Instead, he used the Rebirth Mantra and the Illusion Technique to conjure up a scene of her son growing up safely, getting married, and having children.
Only by making the old woman believe that her son had died peacefully could his obsession be dispelled, allowing her to be reborn in the Pure Land.
This is a white lie; perhaps we can take it as a reference and use the same method.
I thought about it for a moment, then hesitantly whispered my thoughts:
"Perhaps, I can lie to him."
"A lie?" Luo Tianhe glanced at the old man guiltily and asked in a low voice.
“Let him see that his daughter has returned, or that she is doing well in the world and he doesn’t need to wait any longer,” I explained. “Of course, this requires advanced illusion magic, and if he sees through it, it will probably arouse even stronger resentment.”
Master Zhang Qingxiao pondered for a moment, then understood what I meant. He looked at the oil lamp and murmured:
"Perhaps it doesn't need to be that complicated. The core of his obsession is that the light must not go out so that his daughter can find her way home. If only we could show his daughter the real way..."
Upon hearing this, Li Huai, Luo Tianhe, and I all looked puzzled.
Taoist Master Zhang Qingxiao took out an old copper coin from his cloth bag, with blurry runes engraved on it.
Then he placed the copper coin in his palm, muttered some incantations, and then tossed it gently.
The coin landed without making a sound, rolled a few times on the gray ground, and then stood upright.
Luo Tianhe and I were immediately stunned.
"Use this money to ask for directions in the underworld," the Taoist priest said in a deep voice. "With this money as a guide, you can ask the underworld for a way to be reborn. His daughter should no longer be alive, but if her soul still exists, she might be able to sense this path."
Immediately, Daoist Zhang Qingxiao turned to look at the old man:
"Old man, if there were a way for your daughter to stop wandering and pass away peacefully, would you be willing to put down this lamp and let her go?"
Upon hearing this, the old man suddenly looked up, his cloudy eyes fixed on the Taoist priest, then on the upright copper coin.
This copper coin is probably something special; even a ghost could tell it's not ordinary.
I couldn't help but marvel at how my master, being a Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain with profound knowledge, possessed all sorts of treasures.
The old man's eyes kept darting between the master and the ancient coins. His hands, which were holding the oil lamp, trembled even more violently, and the green lamp flickered on and off.
I pondered this. The female ghost hadn't lied to us. This old man had very little soul power left, which was why the oil lamp's flame flickered.
Once his soul power is exhausted, but his obsession remains, he will eventually turn into a vengeful ghost.
After a long while, his chapped lips moved slightly, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible:
"My dear daughter, will she really be able to pass away peacefully?"
"Having a way out is better than wandering forever. Your obsession may be the shackles that bind her."
The Taoist priest said in a deep voice.
The old man remained silent, then slowly handed the oil lamp in his hand to the Taoist priest.
The moment the lamp left his hand, its pale green flame went out with a "poof".
The old man's body trembled, and the lividity on his face quickly faded and disappeared, transforming him into the appearance of an ordinary, gentle old man.
I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. This old man seemed to have been a very good person in life, but his fate was full of misfortune and he lived a life of sorrow.
A sliver of clarity seemed to return to his cloudy eyes.
"Thank you, thank you, Taoist priest."
He slowly uttered these words, his figure began to fade, and finally turned into a wisp of bluish-gray, drifting away with the wind.
The Taoist priest remained expressionless as he bent down and collected the yin coins that were standing on the ground.
As the old man vanished, I felt a surge of pure soul power rushing towards me.
It seemed to be a wisp of his original Yin energy, cold to the touch, yet carrying a strange sense of peace.
The wound on my back doesn't hurt as much anymore, and the shattered soul imprint seems to have been subtly repaired.
I breathed a sigh of relief. The ghost bride said that this old man had the deepest obsession, but was also the easiest to convert. It seems she was right.
The first vengeful spirit's obsession has dissipated, allowing us to stay here for one more day.
At the edge of the Yin Realm, the grayish-white mist seemed to have thinned a bit.
The sobbing of the wet female ghost stopped at some point.
She raised her head, and through the gaps in her wet, long hair, a pair of scarlet eyes were looking at us.
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