Chapter 251 Your necromancy has summoned all the wandering ghosts and spirits from the neighborhood who are leaving get off work for a meeting!
The room was deathly silent.
Zhao Jiangli covered her face and began to sob softly: "That silly child, how could he... how could he eat that kind of thing!"
Sun Tishou was trembling with rage: "Nonsense! Utter nonsense! Isn't this just courting death?!"
Zhao Yan's face turned ashen, a mixture of lingering fear and anger.
I warned him not to watch paranormal adventure livestreams, but he still dared to!
Zhang Qingyuan's expression was solemn: "As expected. That bowl of rice was not an unclaimed offering. Judging from the way it was placed, it was very likely that someone was specifically offering sacrifices to an old ghost with a particular obsession."
“Sun Yunle was ignorant and fearless. He not only took the offerings without permission, but also ate them. This was tantamount to forcibly establishing a connection with that unknown entity, and may even have offended it, which is why his soul was taken away or scattered.”
After listening to Zhang Qingyuan's analysis, Shen Yuepo glanced at the frozen image on her phone screen of Sun Yunle swallowing the incense ash rice, and she already had a plan in mind.
She turned to Zhang Qingyuan and said decisively, "Now that we know the reason, the root cause is that bowl of incense ash rice and the object of its worship. Let's perform a ritual to summon the soul and see if we can bring Sun Yunle's departed soul back."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Qingyuan's face showed a hint of embarrassment and guilt.
He crept closer to Shen Yuepo, seemingly wanting to discuss something in private, but was stunned by the indifferent gaze that Feng Jin swept over him from the side.
He had no choice but to stop, and from a distance of two steps, he lowered his voice, saying with a hint of embarrassment and trepidation:
"Fellow Daoist Shen, to be honest, I usually practice feng shui and divination, as well as talisman exorcism. I don't use this soul-summoning technique very often, and I'm not very proficient at it."
"Last time at Black Wind Pass, I tried to summon the souls of those three people, but I lost control and ended up summoning the souls of the Lu siblings as well."
"I'm just afraid that something will go wrong again this time, and instead of summoning Brother Sun's soul, I'll attract other unclean things from the neighborhood."
Hearing this glorious history, Lin Yanxin burst into laughter, stepped forward, put her arm around Zhang Qingyuan's shoulder, and patted her chest, saying:
"Old Zhang, what are you afraid of! We're here for you, aren't we? Confess boldly! Whatever nonsense you bring up, we'll cover for you!"
Zhang Qingyuan looked at Lin Yanxin with a bitter face and whispered, "Fellow Daoist Lin, it's not that I don't believe you, but your current skill level... can't even beat me."
His words were both tactful and sincere.
Lin Yanxin: "..."
His smile froze on his face, and he silently withdrew his hand from Zhang Qingyuan's shoulder.
Those words are so hurtful.
Shen Yuepo suppressed a laugh and said seriously, "It's alright, Fellow Daoist Zhang. You just need to cast your spell. I will protect you here and keep an eye on the surrounding atmosphere."
She glanced at Feng Jin beside her. With him around, let alone ordinary wandering ghosts, even a ghost king would probably have to take a detour.
Seeing Shen Yuepo say this, Zhang Qingyuan finally calmed down.
He first said to Zhao Jiangli and Sun Tishou, who were full of worry, "Uncle and Aunt, the process of summoning the soul may be disturbed by yin energy."
"You two are of advanced age, and your yang energy is not as strong as that of young people, so you are easily offended. Please wait outside the door for a moment."
Although Mr. and Mrs. Zhao were still worried, they knew that the master had his reasons, so they nodded quickly.
He let Zhao Yan help him out, left the room, and closed the door.
The room fell silent.
Zhang Qingyuan took a deep breath, walked to a more open area in the center of the room, and took out various items from his cloth bag:
A small bowl, a bottle of water, three incense sticks, an incense burner, a stack of yellow talisman paper, and a small copper bell.
He first washed his hands with clean water, then lit incense sticks and placed them in the makeshift incense burner.
Wisps of smoke rose, carrying a calming sandalwood scent.
Holding a copper bell, he stepped out in a ritualistic manner and began chanting a soul-summoning incantation.
With his other hand, he would occasionally stick yellow talismans in specific locations at the four corners of the room, on the doors and windows, and in front of Sun Yunle's bed.
"Wandering souls, where do they stay?"
"The three souls descend early, and the seven spirits arrive."
"The gates of heaven open, the gates of earth open, a thousand-mile-long child brings the soul."
"We beseech the Supreme Lord Laozi to grant this command immediately!"
The incantation echoed, and the copper bell jingled softly.
As Zhang Qingyuan cast his spell, the temperature in the room seemed to slowly drop, and an invisible, chilling aura gradually spread.
The smoke from the incense sticks no longer rose straight up, but began to swirl eerily.
Zhang Qingyuan's forehead was beaded with sweat, but his eyes were focused, fixed on the movement of the incense stick and the open space in the center of the room.
It's here!
A distinct gust of cold wind suddenly swirled up, making the talisman paper rustle and causing the incense burner to flicker violently.
Zhang Qingyuan's eyes lit up, and he shook the copper bell in his hand even more rapidly, while his incantation grew louder:
"Sun Yunle! Return to your soul! Sun Yunle! Quickly return to your place!"
However, the next second—
"What the hell! Old Zhang, what kind of move is that?!" Lin Yanxin was the first to shout, jumping back a step and instinctively hiding next to Feng Jin and Shen Yuepo.
He pointed to the empty area in the center of the room, yet it was clear that something had been added there, and his voice trembled slightly:
"Did your 'soul-summoning magic' summon all the wandering ghosts and spirits from the neighborhood who are off work for a meeting?!"
Zhao Yan was outside. Although he wasn't born with the ability to see ghosts like cultivators, as a senior member of the Special Cases Bureau, he always wore glasses specially made by the bureau.
Looking through his glasses, he saw several blurry, distorted phantoms of souls appearing outside the window.
Zhao Yan couldn't help but gasp. What the hell were these?!
However, just as these wandering spirits, summoned for no apparent reason, were about to solidify, their souls began to solidify.
As if they collectively sensed the presence of Feng Jin, all the phantoms trembled violently at the same time.
They then rushed to infiltrate and escape through the room's walls, floors, and even ceiling.
In the blink of an eye, it vanished completely, leaving only the lingering eerie atmosphere in the room and a bewildered Zhang Qingyuan.
The center of the altar for summoning souls remained empty.
Sun Yunle's wisp of his main soul did not appear.
Zhang Qingyuan, holding the copper bell, remained frozen in place, his face alternating between red and white, feeling embarrassed and frustrated.
He looked at Shen Yuepo with a mournful face: "Fellow Daoist Shen... I... I think I've messed up again..."
Shen Yuepo stepped forward and comforted him, "It's not your fault, Fellow Daoist Zhang. Your soul-summoning technique itself is not wrong. The fact that it can attract wandering souls from the vicinity means that the technique is effective."
Her gaze shifted to Sun Yunle, who remained dazed on the bed, and she pondered, "Sun Yunle's soul did not respond to the summons. It's probably not a simple case of it leaving his body and wandering around, but rather that it's been restrained."
"He was detained at the place where he was live-streaming himself eating incense ash and rice, and was taken in by the old ghost of that place. So when you try to summon his soul here, you can only attract a wandering, ownerless spirit, but you can't call back his main soul."
Zhang Qingyuan suddenly realized: "I see! Then... what should we do now?"
Shen Yuepo had already made up his mind: "The one who tied the knot must untie it. You and your senior brother, go to the funeral route he was broadcasting on."
"Find the root cause of his imprisonment, whether it is a ghost or a monster, and try to communicate with it. If communication fails, try to help it pass on or appease it, and you will be able to release Sun Yunle's soul."
"Me and Fellow Daoist Lin?" Zhang Qingyuan pointed to himself, then to Lin Yanxin, who was still rubbing her chest, and exclaimed in shock:
"Just the two of us? Fellow Daoist Shen, Fellow Daoist Lin can't even beat me right now!"
He reiterated this harsh reality.
Lin Yanxin: "...Old Zhang, thank you. You really don't need to remind me a second time."
He felt that his dignity had been shattered into pieces.
Shen Yuepo, however, had a "I'm optimistic about you two" expression on his face and said in a relaxed tone, "You two can do it. You two complement each other perfectly as a team."
“Although my senior brother is temporarily short of spiritual energy, he has many ideas; Fellow Daoist Zhang, you have a solid foundation and are proficient in magic. You are more than capable of dealing with this kind of old ghost.”
As she spoke, she very naturally took Feng Jin's hand and walked towards the door:
"Feng Jin and I are in a hurry to take our wedding photos. We're short on time and have a lot to do, so we won't be able to go with you. Senior Brother, Fellow Daoist Zhang, it's up to you now. Good luck!"
Lin Yanxin almost jumped up, "Chen Yuepo! You...you value beauty over your senior brother! You're so fickle! You don't even care about your senior brother's life or death just to take a few photos?!"
Shen Yuepo didn't even turn her head, only lazily humming in acknowledgment, while her subordinates had already opened the door.
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