Chapter 384 - 118: Possession by a Ghost
In order to avoid the Wang Family and hasten the burial, the deceased had only been laid to rest for three days, with several days still left before the seven-day limit for the soul’s dispersion.
Therefore, the method of spirit possession could be attempted.
The clamor of suonas and gongs had stopped at an unknown time.
The coffin, made of top-notch wood, rested in the middle of the road, and the onlookers all retreated for fear of being tainted by the misfortune of the departed soul.
The spiritual tent was moved,
concealing the coffin, Elder Jia, and others.
It could better block the sun’s Yang energy, preventing interruption of the soul possession process.
Villagers and guests watched the spiritual tent with complex emotions, feeling awe, curiosity, and doubt, but no one chose to leave.
"Ding-ling-ling..."
Elder Jia donned a Daoist robe and set up a makeshift magic altar under the spiritual tent, waving a peach wood sword in one hand and shaking a copper bell with the other.
The bell rang urgently, eerily cold.
It was like the cries of ghosts, making one’s hair stand on end.
This bell sound...
Fang Zheng squinted.
Interesting!
"Heh!"
Elder Jia pointed fiercely at the coffin, eyes wide open, shouting:
"Supreme Decree, transcend your lonely soul, all phantoms,
let the four kinds receive grace, kneel before my altar, Eight Trigrams shine..."
He recited spells while stepping in the Yu Step, the two harmonizing as if holding some hidden mystery.
"O spirits of heaven and earth, listen to my decree, Supreme Lord Laojun!"
"Today, I am here because of an incident. The second husband’s wife, Zheng Yurong of the Zheng Family, come to see me quickly... come to see me quickly... come to see me quickly..."
Elder Jia’s figure suddenly paused, chanting incantations rapidly, eyes void and lifeless, the peach wood sword and copper bell in his hands trembling vigorously.
"Hey!"
With a low shout, he suddenly turned around, his eyes filled with blood, his mouth foaming, and his body swaying unsteadily.
It made people suspect he might faint and fall at any moment.
While others were looking at each other in dismay.
"Second Hu."
Elder Jia suddenly spoke, his voice turning gentle and slow, like a man imitating a woman’s voice, his demeanor softening.
He looked at Wang Hu, slowly saying:
"You came."
"..." Wang Hu’s eyes flickered, tentatively opening his mouth:
"Mother?"
"It’s me." Elder Jia nodded, his voice hoarse:
"It’s your mother."
"Mother!" Wang Hu’s eyes reddened, and he fell to the ground, wailing and crying:
"Why didn’t you wait for me, mother? I didn’t even get to see you one last time, I’m unfilial... I’m unfilial!"
He had gone from being the son of a farmer in a poor village to establishing a home and career in a big city, working tirelessly.
Half a life of struggle,
decades of scheming.
Only by his mother’s side could he relax his mind.
His mother was not just his mother, she was his root, his support, causing grief to overwhelm him, making him fall to the ground and cry loudly.
"Ah!" Elder Jia’s expression was complicated, putting down the peach wood sword and copper bell, reaching out and slowly helping Wang Hu off the ground:
"Get up, please get up."
"You have things to do, no time to come back. Mother knows and won’t mind, but... now we are separated by life and death."
"It’s better not to meet again."
"Mother!"
Wang Hu’s body trembled, gripping Elder Jia’s arms tightly, calming his tumultuous emotions, then sniffling as he asked:
"You once promised me that you would be buried in the Wang Family’s ancestral tomb when old. Why did you change your mind now?"
"Did the Jia Family deceive me, and you never said you wanted to be buried in the Jia Family ancestral tomb?"
"Second Hu." Elder Jia looked at Wang Hu, speaking slowly:
"You know well how your father treated me. If not for him, your brother wouldn’t have died, yet the Jia Family treated me well."
"After dying, I’d rather not suffer near your father even in the underworld."
"You should understand mother’s feelings."
"But..." Wang Hu was excited:
"You’re my mother, the Jia Family... the Jia Family doesn’t have your descendants!"
"My mind is made up." Elder Jia’s face darkened:
"This matter is settled, and now we’re separated by life and death; staying long will shorten your Yang energy, I’m leaving now."
He was about to release the magic.
"Wait!"
Wang Hu suddenly shouted, gripping Elder Jia’s arms tightly, saying:
"Mother, do you remember what happened when I was seven?"
"I went to play by the river with some village friends and almost drowned; you went to save me and left a scar on me in a panic."
"Mother!"
He stared at Elder Jia, asking:
"Do you remember where that scar is?"
Huh?
Elder Jia was stunned, a flicker of confusion in his eyes, though a strange color flashed by, noticed by Wang Hu who was watching him closely.
"Mother."
Wang Hu squinted, his face cold:
"Don’t tell me you don’t remember; you shouldn’t forget that scar your entire life!"
"Or..."
"You’re not my mother at all!"
Elder Jia’s face changed, instinctively avoiding the other’s eyes. He really wasn’t Wang Hu’s mother, nor aware of where the scar was.
Spirit possession,
was nothing more than a deceitful act.
However, thanks to his superb acting skills and familiarity with local folks, no one had exposed him all these years.
Unfortunately, Wang Hu’s mother moved from outside, and her young experiences were only heard about, not known in detail.
Oh no!
Elder Jia secretly lamented.
’Maybe I should just pretend to faint, saying the magic time is too short, but I’m afraid Wang Hu’s forcefulness might involve fists and feet, which these old bones can’t withstand for long.’
Not far away.
Fang Zheng observed this scene and shook his head lightly, then clasped a spell in front of himself, exhaling a breath of true Qi, with the spell surfacing in his mind.
’Supreme Decree, observe your lonely soul!’