Knife splashing

Chapter 329: Ghost Book Sword Fight

After fixing it, everyone stepped back.

I saw the body of Mr. Shen sitting cross-legged in the mourning hall, his arms hanging on his knees, his eyes staring straight ahead.

He looks like a Taoist who is meditating and practicing.

It’s easier to deal with living people.

But the appearance of a dead person is really creepy.

This was the first time Li Yan had seen such a method.

Sharifei couldn't help but ask, "Master Dao, what's your plan? Are you going to chant sutras to make people ascend to heaven?"

"How can I have that ability?"

Wang Daoxuan shook his head slightly, and said solemnly: "This method is called 'corpse binding', which is to find out what Mr. Shen's obsession is."

"Mr. Shen, get some hemp ropes and a square table, and send someone to search the area near the Shen family's house to see if there are any dead cats, dogs, or crows, and bring back the bodies."

These words made everyone even more curious.

Although I didn't understand why, I quickly did it.

Soon, the straw rope and the square table were found, and in less than half an incense stick of time, the Shen family swordsmen returned to the courtyard, carrying a dead cat and the body of the old crow in their hands.

They were all dressed in black, which looked a bit ominous.

"Sir, we found the body nearby."

The way they looked at Wang Daoxuan was already somewhat awed.

Shen Jinghong also felt a chill in his heart and couldn't help but ask, "Master, is there someone who wants to cast a curse to harm my family?"

"Don't worry, it's not."

Wang Daoxuan shook his head and explained, "The dead man's resentment is still there, and he is the head of the family, so the feng shui of the house is also tainted with evil spirits."

"Animals are the brightest and darkest. This cat and this old crow are both quite old. They are attracted to the corpse and want to use the evil spirit to stimulate their spirituality."

"Unfortunately, they directly caused disaster..."

As he spoke, he pointed to the side of the mourning hall.

When everyone looked down, they saw a series of muddy cat paw prints on the bluestone slab.

After saying that, he picked up the straw rope and came to the corpse. While making hand gestures and entering taboos, he tied up the corpse with the straw rope and tied knots in the important places.

This knot is called the "corpse-suppressing knot" and is considered a folk secret method.

Li Yan listened to Wang Daoxuan's detailed explanation.

In ancient times, writing had not yet been invented. The barbaric ancestors used knotted ropes to record events. They accidentally discovered some secrets and summarized them as witchcraft, which then gradually evolved into folk secrets.

The sound of the call summarizes the spell.

The sign language during hunting summarizes the handprints.

Many spells are like this, you can always find the source.

This "corpse-suppressing knot" is used to prevent corpses from turning into corpses. It is used in different ways in different sects. Some use an ink fountain to seal the coffin, while others use a red rope to suppress evil spirits...

Under the gaze of everyone, Wang Daoxuan tied up the corpses, ordered people to place the square table in front of the corpses, and then cut open the chests and abdomens of the dead cat and the dead crow and took out the hearts.

As he started, he explained:

"The square table is used to block the way, the cat is on the ground, the bird is in the sky, and the person is in the middle. The three hearts are united, which can inspire the obsession in the heart, that is, 'three hearts against one heart, the dead will be resurrected'..."

"I'm going to pretend to be dead later, don't be afraid!"

As he spoke, he placed the Cat-Bird Heart on the table, level with Mr. Shen's heart, keeping it in a straight line.

Almost instantly, the corpse began to move.

Wow…

The corpse kept shaking, as if it was about to jump out at any time, but because it was tied up with straw ropes and blocked by the square table, it could only shake continuously, causing the chair under it to sway back and forth.

Everyone in the Shen family present felt a chill in their hearts.

Wang Daoxuan was prepared. He flipped the Golden Money Sword in his hand, pinched his fingers and held it in reverse. Then he said, "Everyone, walk past the table one by one."

Everyone in the Shen family looked at each other in confusion, somewhat hesitant.

"I'll come first!"

Shen Jinghong came to the table first.

He vaguely guessed what this was going to do.

It is nothing more than to find out who the resentment in the deceased's heart comes from. Only by eliminating the resentment can the dead soul rest in peace.

Looking at his father with his eyes wide open and moving around, Shen Jinghong suddenly burst into tears and looked at Wang Daoxuan while trying to hold back his grief.

"Mr. Shen will leave first, next one."

Wang Daoxuan said expressionlessly.

Those swordsmen were brave and stepped forward one by one. The reaction of the corpse was exactly the same as Shen Jinghong's, so there was no surprise.

"Please carry me over there..."

The old lady of the Shen family had turbid tears in her eyes, and she said in a trembling voice: "I know that the boss has always been resentful of me. If that's the case, let me accompany him for a while."

Naturally, no one dared to respond to such words.

However, after the old woman was carried over, the body was still in the same state.

The old woman sighed, "Go, call the second and third brothers out. We must let the eldest brother go with peace of mind today!"

Soon, the two fat and thin old men were also called out. Seeing this situation, they were obviously frightened and even resisted a little.

But under the murderous gazes of those swordsmen, they had no choice but to pass by. Fortunately, the corpse was still there, which made them feel relieved.

"I'll just say it, it has nothing to do with us!"

The two of them suddenly became proud again.

Not long after, it was the turn of the woman next to the old lady.

That was Shen Jinghong's biological mother, Jia, who was also Mr. Shen's second concubine. Her status remained unchanged after the eldest lady of the Shen family died of illness.

It was because Shen Jinghong was born to a concubine and was not valued by the old lady that the second and third masters of the Shen family became ambitious.

Just as Jia arrived in front of the square table, something strange happened.

Click!

Mr. Shen suddenly jumped up. Although his upper body was tied up with straw ropes, his lower body was not restricted and he just sat cross-legged.

He stretched his legs straight and rushed out.

But it was blocked by the square table, and the whole body fell on the table.

"Okay, it's you indeed!"

The third master of the Shen family, the short and fat old man, immediately scolded: "Jia, I said something was wrong with you. You must have done something to let down your eldest brother, which made him die with regrets!"

Shen Jinghong looked as if struck by lightning and his face turned pale.

Jia's face was filled with disbelief, and she said angrily, "After the eldest lady died, I took care of the household affairs and served the old lady. I didn't dare to slack off in the slightest. Don't slander me!"

"Master, since you have a grudge against me, I will go with you!"

After saying that, he lunged forward, trying to bang his head against the table.

"Madam, don't worry!"

Wang Daoxuan quickly stopped him and said in a deep voice: "Sometimes obsession is not just about people, but also about things. Think carefully, what do you have with you that Master Shen likes?"

Jia's face was pale, and she was obviously very sad and angry, her mind was still a little confused, and it took her a long time to recover. She thought of something and took out a gilded copper key from her bosom.

She said in a trembling voice: "The master gave this to me before he left, and told me not to lose it. If anything happens to him, give it to Jingyu."

“He always says this when he leaves, but Jingyu also had an accident this time, and I didn’t think of it for a while.” “Oh?”

Wang Daoxuan took the gilded bronze key thoughtfully.

The specifications of this gilded copper key are somewhat different from the current popular ones. It is a whole piece of copper with a hook, a pattern engraved in the center, and complex serrations on both sides.

Wang Daoxuan couldn't recognize it either, so he stopped looking and hung the key in front of Mr. Shen's body.

A strange thing happened. As the key swung, the corpse's head moved back and forth, and the struggle became even more violent.

"Come, give me a hand!"

Wang Daoxuan shouted, and Li Yan and Sha Lifei immediately stepped forward, lifted the corpse by the shoulders, and put it back into the coffin.

Wang Daoxuan stuffed the key into the corpse's hand, untied the "corpse-suppressing knot" and the straw rope, and pushed it gently.

It was strange to say, the corpse that was originally sitting motionless immediately fell down, and as Wang Daoxuan reached out and touched it, the eyes immediately closed, without any unusual movement.

"This is what Mr. Shen is obsessed with."

Wang Daoxuan shook his head and said, "I will perform a ritual tonight to appease the dead soul, and then bury this thing with him, and he will be able to rest in peace."

"Wait a minute!"

The second master of the Shen family, the tall and thin old man, was anxious and hurried forward and said, "This key is so important that the boss still misses it after his death. Maybe it is the family fortune that the boss has hidden away."

"Now that my Shen family has encountered a big problem, it is better to take it out and help the Shen family overcome the disaster, so that the boss can rest assured!"

This look disgusted everyone present.

Everyone knows that this old guy has no good ideas.

When Shen Jinghong heard this, his face was immediately filled with anger.

Sha Lifei, who was standing next to him, stopped him and said with a grin, "Don't worry, the old man is right. The Shen family is in a bad situation now and urgently needs a large sum of money to save their lives."

As he spoke, he looked at the two old men and said meaningfully, "Besides, this matter cannot be concealed. With so many people watching, it is inevitable that there will be some evil-minded people who would rob the tomb and steal the treasure."

"Don't talk nonsense, man!"

The short and fat old man quickly retorted, facing the contemptuous looks of the crowd, but his face showed no guilt at all.

The old woman lying on the bamboo chair seemed to be completely disappointed with her two sons. She ignored them and looked at Master Shen. She said weakly, "Jinghong, you will be the head of this family from now on. You can handle it."

Shen Jinghong was a bit weak, but in this situation, he was still able to remain calm. He bowed to Wang Daoxuan and said, "Master, if you take out the things, can my father rest in peace?"

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and said, "The obsession of the deceased is just a key. You can bury it with him. As for what is inside, it doesn't matter."

"That's good."

Shen Jinghong looked at Jia again and comforted her, "Don't be sad, mother. Do you remember where father said this key is?"

Jia shook her head and said, "The master didn't say anything, and I didn't ask."

The old housekeeper next to him interrupted and said, "This key should be used to open the flower flag lock. It was popular during the Tang and Song dynasties. Nowadays, we all use the Guang lock."

"show me."

Li Yan stepped forward to take the key, made a hand gesture, and took a deep sniff.

In an instant, the smell within a radius of 300 meters rushed into the nose.

This gilded copper key is extremely exquisite and has a unique smell.

Since there is a key, there must be a lock, and both should be of the same material, unless they are not in the Shen family.

"found it!"

Li Yan suddenly looked towards the backyard and strode forward.

Everyone in the Shen family looked at each other and followed closely.

After passing through the patio corridor and several perforated flower walls, everyone arrived at the backyard of the Shen family and came to the outside of a wing room.

"This is my father's study."

Shen Jinghong hurried to explain.

To be honest, he was also very curious.

Li Yan didn't say much. After entering the study, he jumped into the air, reached out his hand, and took something from the beam.

Everyone leaned over to take a look, and it turned out to be an ebony box.

The box is not big. It uses the unique lacquer wood craftsmanship of Chu. The patterns are intricate and simple, and the lock is a gilded bronze fish-shaped flag lock.

At first glance, this thing is a handicraft from not too long ago, but the fact that it is packed in such an exquisite box shows that the owner values ​​it very much.

Li Yan looked at Master Shen, and when he nodded, he directly used the lock to open the box.

The second and third masters of the Shen family could not wait to come over, and when they saw what was inside, they immediately said angrily: "These crappy books are useless!"

There was a book in the box.

The words "Book of Jin" are written on the cover.

"Book of Jin" is one of China's "Twenty-Four Histories", co-authored by Fang Xuanling and others in the Tang Dynasty. Although it is a history book, it records all kinds of absurd and bizarre things.

Li Yan frowned slightly. After picking up the book, he turned directly to the page with a bamboo bookmark. There was a paragraph circled in red pen on it.

Master Shen also came over and said doubtfully, "There are several torches coming out from the city, shaped like a large cart, covered with a white cloth curtain, and they leave the city with the fire, heading northeast, and extinguish when they reach the river..."

"This is the Biography of Yu Liang. When Yu Liang, a minister of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was the governor of Jiang, Jing, and Yu, he saw a strange phenomenon in Wuchang City at night."

"What did father collect this for?"

Li Yan seemed to be thinking about something and looked at the box again.

There were two other things inside, one was a letter and the other was a map.

After picking up the letter, his eyes suddenly darkened, and he handed it over helplessly, "Master Shen, take a look, what does it say?"

The font on it was strange and it was ancient Chinese, which he couldn't recognize at all.

Shen Jinghong took it and looked at it, and was immediately surprised and said: "This is a sword fighting book!"

Seeing Li Yan frowning, he quickly explained: "Yu Yuanwei, a calligrapher from the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties, mentioned in his book On Calligraphy that ghost writing has evil spirits, and knife fighting comes from ancient artifacts. They are two special characters."

"During the Yuanjia period of the Song Dynasty, a man was struck by lightning in Jingkou and died. On his arm, there were four characters written on his arm. The four characters said 'Killed by karma', so it was determined to be a ghost book. Ghost books also have only these four characters."

"The Dao Dou was an ancient marching implement. It was a handle-shaped bucket and used as a cooking utensil during the day and as a patrol weapon at night. This font was often used for secret letters in the ancient army."

As he spoke, his eyes were complicated, "This thing is extremely unpopular. When my father was alive, he often asked my brother and I to learn it. It turns out it should be here."

After he finished reading the letter, his eyes were filled with shock. "This is the secret order that Yang Xingmi gave to Heiyundu back then, asking them to search for something near Liangzi Lake..."

As he spoke, he opened the second letter and said in a trembling voice, "This is a report, saying that 'Tingzidu' and 'Luoyandu' have sent people. The two sides fought several battles in secret, and then thunder and lightning struck from the sky, and everyone disappeared mysteriously..."

There is also a map in the box.

After expanding it, it was clearly the area near Liangzi Lake, with numerous red circles marked with some ticks and some crossed out.

Seeing this, Shen Jinghong said helplessly, "So, father is still obsessed with finding the secret of the Black Cloud Sword."

"This thing is a disaster, not a blessing, for our Shen family..."

It seems obvious that he has no intention of continuing this matter.

Sharifei's eyes lit up, "Those Black Cloud soldiers must be looking for treasures. There are treasures near Liangzi Lake!"

Li Yan was speechless. "Who are Yang Xingmi and Zhu Wen? They can't find them. How can you find them?"

Shen Jinghong also shook his head and said, "I have never heard of this. No matter what it is, my Shen family does not plan to look for it again."

After that, he stood up and said, "Master, now that my father's obsession has been resolved, can you perform a ritual to comfort his soul?"

"That's natural."

Wang Daoxuan nodded and started making arrangements with everyone.

No one noticed that the second master of the Shen family's son's eyes were filled with uncontrollable excitement, and he lowered his head and returned to his own courtyard...

(End of this chapter)