Part 2
Hai Di brushed off the paper ash stuck to the ends of Jiang Si’s hair. “These Yinchai‘s behaviors truly fit the folk stereotypes.”
They all valued money over their lives, their eyes lighting up at the sight of wealth.
Jiang Si let out a low chuckle, shooting him a glance. “Before the chaotic mountains, paper ash flutters like butterflies; even as a ghost, one still demands copper coins. Both humans and ghosts chase after profit. Boss Hai, are you just now figuring this out?”
“I am different.” Hai Di’s eyes flashed slightly, naturally replying: “I only chase after you.”
Jiang Si: “…That’s enough from you.” The tips of his ears warmed up. Looking down and catching sight of the floor covered in paper ash, he felt quite a bit of worry. “We still have to figure out how to explain this to the front desk later.”
Hai Di felt helpless, not knowing how his train of thought could jump so fast.
“I will go negotiate with them later, you rest for a bit.”
Facts proved that the power of money worked exceptionally well in the human realm. With enough money given, not only did the receptionist not blame them, but she smiled radiantly and personally saw them to the door.
.
On the road, Lin Nan sat in the back row, feeling utterly unnatural no matter what he did. His eyes were on his phone, but in reality, he was constantly paying attention to what the two people in front were saying.
Taking advantage of it not being too late, Jiang Si contacted Shen Hu.
With that Cayenne of Hai Di’s having perished in battle, he picked another Bentley from the garage to drive, personally acting as Jiang Si’s chauffeur to ferry people around.
The car window was lowered a slight crack. The night wind crashed erratically inside the cabin, breaking the originally stagnant atmosphere.
“This is the situation I saw today. Right, I didn’t see the ghost, but this method is already brutal enough.” Jiang Si leaned lazily against the seat backrest as he spoke. “Have you ever heard of these things?”
“It’s not just Ningshi and Rongcheng, but also the provincial capitals of two other coastal provinces in Southern China. The scope is quite large, and there are at least over a dozen victims.”
Shen Hu’s expression was grave. “I really haven’t heard any wind of this. You’re the first person to bring this up. I will seek assistance from fellow Daoists everywhere. How are you doing right now?”
“I’m okay, I’m alive.” Jiang Si had paid his respects to the Taishan Shi and felt much better; at least no further accidents happened on the way over.
“I actually have an idea, listen and see what you think.” He recounted his afternoon’s inspiration to Shen Hu, then expressed his concerns.
“That thing is not only brutal, but it also bears grudges. If we hadn’t touched those ancestral tablets, we wouldn’t have encountered a car crash immediately. So I’m worried: if we burn it here, will it directly cause a backlash in other locations? It wouldn’t be good if we back it into a corner and it lashes out desperately.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“I was thinking, what if we burn it all together?” Jiang Si said faintly.
Shen Hu’s eyelids twitched. He hadn’t expected this answer.
“I thought you would choose a more gradual approach.”
Jiang Si chuckled lightly. “Leaving this thing around for one more day is equivalent to holding an extra knife to our own necks. I don’t want to die this early.”
“How about this, I will go find people to discuss it shortly, and give you an answer tomorrow morning, how does that sound?” Shen Hu spoke up. “The Hezi Xinniang, I indeed haven’t heard of it. However, in Dongying folklore, there is a legend of using boxes for witchcraft to raise ghosts. But they always use infants and children as the raw materials; almost none use adult females.”
“The Caisheng Zhege method yields the best results with children. Firstly, they are easy to control; secondly, they are easily acquired; and thirdly, it’s said that children’s souls are pure, leading to a higher success rate.”
Hearing about dark arts that involved refining ghosts from children, Jiang Si couldn’t help but frown. He patiently listened to him finish before saying, “Are you talking about the Xiaoniaoxiang?”
The moment the name left his mouth, Jiang Si immediately felt even Shen Hu fall silent for a moment.
“…It shouldn’t have anything to do with it. If it is that——” Shen Hu paused. “Then the trouble is massive.”
The Xiaoniaoxiang (Little Bird Box), despite sounding like a child-friendly name, was universally recognized as one of the most malicious dark arts.
Legend had it that it originated hundreds of years ago during the tumultuous society of the Sengoku period in Dongying, when various shogunates waged endless wars.
To protect themselves and resist foreign enemies, some commoners came up with a wicked idea. They would forge their own “God” to obtain its protection.
In times of war and chaos, young children were viewed as burdens and substitutes for rations. Therefore, using them didn’t face much opposition.
At the time, the Dongying understanding of funeral culture dictated that odd numbers were auspicious, and even numbers were Yin.
An even number of children were placed into each box. The greater the number, the higher the success rate, and the greater its power.
The method recorded was to peel open the child’s scalp and inject mercury into the soft skull, slowly allowing the skin and flesh to separate. Next, using a knife, the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue were all cut off—referred to as sealing the five senses. Finally, the bones in their bodies were snapped inch by inch until they resembled cartilage made of rubber. Throughout this process, they had to ensure the child remained alive until they were finally placed inside the box, sealed, and buried.
A stone monument was erected beside it, and the villagers came to worship daily. Ultimately, they would obtain the “God” they desired.
Initially, this method did protect them from foreign invasion, but far more terrifying drawbacks subsequently emerged.
One after another, villagers were flayed and hung on the branches in the village. At night, the sounds of children giggling and clapping hands could frequently be heard wandering throughout the village. Anyone who saw them met a tragic death without exception.
It wasn’t a pity that these instigators died, but nobody anticipated that the power of this Xiaoniaoxiang was immense enough to cover a radius of a hundred miles. Anyone who came close to it almost entirely perished.
In the end, it was only by relying on tens of thousands of high monks casting spells together that it was temporarily suppressed. This alone averted a catastrophic disaster.
It was said that at the time, yellow sand blotted out the sun, Yin winds howled between heaven and earth, and the monks’ chanting echoed like deafening thunder. The two sides clashed for half a month before it gradually weakened.
Jiang Si sighed, “Ghosts are terrifying, but the people who came up with this method are clearly even more detestable.”
Shen Hu didn’t dare waste any more time. He hurriedly hung up the phone and went to contact his fellow Daoists.
By the time Jiang Si’s group returned to the villa district, Hai Furen and Qi Shanmu had already retired for the night.
The Ayi had prepared two guest rooms for Jiang Si and Lin Nan. Originally seeing that the rooms were next to each other, Lin Nan was quite happy and wanted to pull Jiang Si for a longer chat.
Jiang Si instructed him: “Rest early, call me if anything happens.” Turning his head, he followed Hai Di and left the third-floor corridor.
Leaving Lin Nan to watch the backs of the two, standing there for a long time.
After a long while, he angrily stamped his foot. Damn it, it’s all the Jubensha‘s fault.
How could he be this unlucky.
On the other side, Jiang Si walked and said, “Tomorrow we still need to go back to the Jubensha shop to take another look.”
“En.” Hai Di responded, their ten fingers intertwined. “I can’t sleep, stay with me for a while.”
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Si rarely heard him use this tone. The memories of being frightened during his Lihunzheng period surged up again. He narrowed his eyes with concern, “Are you feeling unwell?”
Hai Di nodded, then shook his head, holding out his bandaged hand. “It hurts a bit.”
Jiang Si looked from left to right but couldn’t spot any signs of bleeding. He asked, “Is the wound hurting or the bone?”
“The wound.”
Jiang Si’s expression grew more serious, assuming it had festered. He hurriedly pulled him back to the room to re-bandage it.
After carefully unfastening the gauze, the wound was actually perfectly fine. It wasn’t bleeding, just slightly pale from the pressure of the binding. However, simply looking at such a deep wound was enough to shock the eyes and stun the heart.
Holding the fingers, Jiang Si applied the medicine while simultaneously asking about the pressure, “Does it hurt like this?”
He hadn’t noticed that his face was almost pressed right up against it. The warm airflow from his breathing tickled across the wound, stirring up waves of tingling numbness in the tip of Hai Di’s heart.
Staring at Jiang Si’s naturally lowered eyelashes for a long time, Hai Di’s heart stirred, and he called out his name.
“Jiang Si.”
“En?” Jiang Si lifted his eyes to look at him.
The hand that Jiang Si was holding reversed the roles. He pulled him closer and kissed him, leaving no room for refusal.
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