Chapter 16 Adding the finishing touch to the dead

"Use lotus roots to create a substitute?" Both Hu Zi and Widow Wang were surprised after hearing what I said, but then, Hu Zi's eyes showed a look of indifference. He pointed to the lotus roots on the ground and said, "Just use this? Will it work? You are just burning newspapers on the grave to fool ghosts!"

I laughed when I heard it, and then asked Hu Zi, "Have you read the Investiture of the Gods?"

"Of course I have, but what does this have to do with the Investiture of the Gods?" Hu Zi looked confused, but then seemed to suddenly remember something, slapped his head, widened his eyes and said, "You mean... the part where Nezha rebuilt his body in the lotus after his death?"

"Yes." I nodded.

There is a passage in the Investiture of the Gods that after Nezha died, his master Taiyi Zhenren rebuilt his body, and the nine-hole lotus root was used to rebuild his body.

Ancient Taoist books describe that the nine-hole lotus roots are spiritual, and the meridians of the nine-hole lotus roots are similar to the human body. Some lotus roots grow in shapes that are very similar to human shapes, and some even have noses and eyes, which are very lifelike.

Therefore, there is a Taoist technique in Taoism to connect the dead body, called the lotus root substitute.

What I am going to do now is to use the nine-hole lotus root to create a substitute for Liu Laohan.

However, when my master taught me this, he only said that this was a technique for reattaching a mutilated corpse. But Liu Laohan's body was completely gone, only a piece of human skin remained. I had no idea if using lotus roots as a substitute would work.

But no matter what, I had to give it a try.

"Qian Yu, it's just a TV show after all, everything is fake, do you really want to do this? Is it possible?" Hu Zi obviously still didn't believe it, and muttered: "Besides, that person is Taiyi Zhenren, a real immortal. Although you have learned some skills from your master, you are not an immortal..."

Hu Zi kept muttering vigorously, and I didn't say much. I just picked up the kitchen knife and polished one of the nine-hole lotus roots that was as long as my arm. Then I asked Hu Zi to help me hold the human skin and stuff the polished nine-hole lotus root into the arm part of the human skin.

Liu Laohan's human skin was well preserved, with only a blood hole in the belly. The rest of the body was basically undamaged, and his hands, feet, head, and facial features were all intact.

After that, I found a relatively thick lotus root, chopped it a few times with a knife, and then carved out the facial features with the tip of the knife, and then stuffed it into the head of the human skin.

Looking at the human skin that had been propped up and had taken on a human shape, Widow Wang shuddered subconsciously, and even Hu Zi couldn't help but mutter: "Damn, it looks a bit creepy, Qian Yu, your carving skills... are not very good!"

I looked at Liu Laohan's head, and there was a trace of guilt on my face.

My carving skills were indeed not very good. I saw that although Liu Laohan's head was propped up, his face was wrinkled, especially the eye sockets, which were empty because there were no eyeballs. If you say it's not scary, it's definitely a lie.

After more than half an hour, Liu Laohan's body was finally put together. I looked at Liu Laohan's body, which still looked somewhat like when he was alive, and nodded with satisfaction.

Anyway, I finally created a substitute for Liu Laohan.

But there was still one last step to be completed, which was to add the finishing touches to Liu Laohan's body.

I took out a brush, dipped some cinnabar, and gently dotted Liu Laohan's left and right eye sockets, then hooked and picked...

When Liu Laohan's eyes were pointed out by me, the whole body suddenly looked a little more magical, but his eyes were still wide open, and the eyeballs that I had just pointed out were red, as if they were bleeding.

As the saying goes, the living watch the world with their eyes open, and the dead rest with their eyes closed. If Liu Laohan was buried with his eyes open, his soul might continue to see this world after the seventh day, and he would be attached to it and unwilling to enter the reincarnation cycle.

I quickly reached out and gently closed Liu Laohan's eyelids, and then I breathed a sigh of relief. At this point, Liu Laohan's lotus substitute was completely completed.

Moreover, after I closed Liu Laohan's eyelids, I clearly felt that the temperature in the living room suddenly became a little warmer, as if something cold had just left.

My eyelids jumped, and I thought to myself, could it be that when I was making the substitute, Liu Laohan's ghost had actually been hiding in the dark and peeking?

As soon as I thought of this, cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

Fortunately, I didn't just find some lotus roots and stuff them in to fool him, otherwise, I'm afraid Liu Laohan would have turned into a monster.

At this time, I heard Hu Zi say in surprise: "Qian Yu, you can do it. Although it looks... a little weird, it's much better than dying without a complete body." I laughed dryly and was about to speak, but Widow Wang suddenly asked

: "Qian Yu, I just felt... a chill on my back. I saw that you were very focused, so I didn't want to disturb you, but when you closed the eyes of the corpse, the chilly feeling disappeared."

Widow Wang was panicking, and she deliberately lowered her voice and asked, "Qian Yu, it can't be... the ghost of Liu Laohan... is here?"

Hearing this, Hu Zi also became nervous, staring around with his eyes wide open. Seeing this, I hurriedly comforted the two of them, "It's okay, don't think too much. Not everyone will haunt after death, and haunting is not that simple. Some people want to become ghosts after death, but they can't do it. Don't scare yourself."

"Oh oh." Widow Wang nodded, but there was still a trace of panic in her eyes, and she turned her head from time to time to look around.

Seeing this, I couldn't help but shake my head, thinking that after what Widow Wang experienced tonight, she might be eager to find a man to rely on.

After all, what happened tonight was too bizarre. As a woman, she was timid to begin with, and it would be difficult for her to sleep alone in the future.

"Since the chastity seal is still there, she is still a virgin. I don't know which bastard will take her away in the future." I cursed in my heart, but in fact, I was still a little jealous of the man that Widow Wang would marry in the future. After all,

such a beautiful woman is rare even in the city, let alone in our remote countryside.

"Qianyu, what should we do next? Carry it back to the cemetery and rebury it?" Hu Zi looked at Liu Laohan's corpse with a worried look on his face, and said: "How about we wait until daybreak? Going to the cemetery so late is like lighting a lantern in a toilet, looking for death?"

I shook my head: "Not during the day, if the three Liu brothers see us, they will definitely make trouble for us, and we won't be able to explain ourselves then."

"That's right." Hu Zi sighed, then cursed, and said: "Damn it, let's go, I'll go with you, but Qianyu, let's make it clear first, if anything really happens, don't leave me behind and run away by yourself, you run too fast, I can't catch up with you."

Hu Zi lit a cigarette and continued, "As the saying goes, when you encounter a ghost, you don't need to run faster than it, you just need to run faster than the people around you. Qianyu, if you leave me and run away, then even if I become a ghost, I will never let you go. I will lie on your window every day and scare you to death."

I was amused by Hu Zi, and even Widow Wang laughed.

"Don't you still believe in my character, Zhang Qianyu? And we have been brothers since childhood. Don't worry, I will never cheat you." I patted Hu Zi's shoulder and said, Hu Zi nodded and muttered, "That's better."

But the next sentence I said made Hu Zi stagger and almost fall to the ground.

"Hu Zi, carry the body, we'll go now."

"No way, I'm carrying the body?" Hu Zi's head shook like a wave drum, and he looked reluctant.

I smiled and said, "I can carry it, but if you meet a yellow fox or something else on the road, I can't help you."

"Ah, this..." Hu Zi was speechless, then sighed and said, "Okay then."

Although he looked reluctant, Hu Zi still carried the body in the end. After saying hello to Widow Wang, the two of us went out and carried the body in the dark towards the graveyard in the back mountain.

But before leaving, I secretly gave the evil-repelling talisman to Widow Wang. Widow Wang understood and gave me a grateful look, and even gently pinched my hand three times, and then went back to the room.

I looked at my hands with a puzzled look on my face, wondering what the Widow Wang meant by the last three pinches of my hand? I

looked up at the moving back of the twisting waist, shook my head blankly, and turned around and walked quickly out of the village.