The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 422 I can't save him, but someone can.

Lang Jiuchuan followed Liang Jinfeng and the others into a cramped courtyard. Although the courtyard was small, with only two rooms, the monthly rent was still three taels of silver.

Stepping inside, in the equally cramped space, on a bed lay a man with a emaciated body, a pale face, and almost no breath—it was the remnant soul Ning Zhe she had been looking at.

He stood blankly at the head of the bed, staring at the person on the bed, who was growing increasingly weak.

"Brother Ning came from a poor family. Before passing the imperial examination, he supported himself by copying books and writing letters for a bookstore. After passing the examination, some local gentry wanted to register their land under his name to avoid taxes. He was unwilling, but his sister-in-law was pregnant at the time, so he accepted the arrangement from both families. There was no other way; being aloof couldn't put food on the table. Even if the adults didn't eat, the children still needed to eat. He couldn't let the mother and child go without meat. But this good life didn't last long. After giving birth to Shao Si, Sister-in-law Ning was always weak and sickly, bedridden, and constantly taking medicine. She suffered for two years, but she didn't recover and ended up with a lot of debt."

Ning Shaosi brought water and a cotton cloth to wipe Ning Zhe's face.

Seeing this, Liang Jinfeng sighed, "Shao Si is an exceptionally intelligent and sensible child. He's only six years old this year, but he can already read and write characters. After his father's accident, he took care of him without ever complaining. The father and son depended on each other for survival. Although their lives were poor, they were not desperate. Just when he was about to pass the imperial examination and finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, I never expected... Alas, what a mess this is!"

Lang Jiuchuan glanced at Ning Shaosi, who lowered his head, pursed his lips, and stubbornly wiped his father's fingers one by one.

Liang Jinfeng followed her gaze and said, "Master, don't worry, I will pay the fee on behalf of Brother Ning."

"No need, Uncle Liang, I'll borrow it and pay for it myself," Ning Shaosi said, turning his head.

Lang Jiuchuan summoned a talisman brush, and with his other hand, he made a hand seal with two fingers together, then struck the talisman brush, drawing out the other remnant soul from the body.

It was just as she expected.

This person is not dead; a remnant soul still exists within his body. However, there is only one soul, the main life soul's yang energy, which is also the yang fire in his left shoulder. It is now almost extinguished, while the other two have long been completely destroyed.

He didn't die, but he couldn't wake up either, simply because only one soul was holding onto his life force. In fact, if it weren't for the talisman left for him by the master and the blessing of the Wen Chang luck, he would have been very easy to be possessed by evil spirits.

Lang Jiuchuan didn't hide anything and said these words, mainly looking at Ning Shaosi as he spoke.

He is intelligent and is the person involved; he should understand his father's situation.

Liang Jinfeng was somewhat bewildered and asked, "Are you saying that Brother Ning's three souls and seven spirits have been reduced to only one?"

"One soul remains in this body, ensuring his physical body's survival," Lang Jiuchuan said. "Of the remaining two souls and seven spirits, one soul and six spirits have already vanished, leaving only one soul and one spirit. Moreover, he has been wandering outside for too long, and this one soul and one spirit will soon dissipate as well."

Ning Shaosi's eyes were red, and he crumpled the cotton cloth in his hand into the shape of pickled vegetables.

“Now that this soul and spirit have merged with this soul and entered this body again, he will hardly be able to wake up. Even if he does wake up, he will not be able to walk and jump as usual, and his mind will not be sound.” Lang Jiuchuan said, “Without a complete soul and spirit in the body, he will be very weak and sickly, and he will be easily possessed by evil spirits. If it is an evil ghost, it will devour his remnant soul, or at the very least, it will push him out and make him a wandering ghost, who will eventually be reduced to ashes.”

"So, you can't even be reincarnated?" Liang Jinfeng said, his face pale.

Lang Jiuchuan nodded: "If the soul is incomplete, even if one is reincarnated in the underworld, there will be intellectual disabilities, that is, being mentally challenged."

Upon hearing this, Ning Shaosi's tears fell like beads from a broken string.

Liang Jinfeng's eyes also reddened, and he said, "Is there no other way? Master, you have extraordinary abilities, can't you find that so-called one soul and six spirits back?" "I see that his remnant soul has bite marks and there are evil spirits attached to it. He must have fallen into the river because he was frightened and his soul left his body. There are probably water ghosts in the river that devoured him."

Liang Jinfeng felt a chill run down his spine and said, "If a person dies and becomes a ghost, can he eat other ghosts?"

"Humans eat humans, ghosts eat ghosts, what's wrong with that?" Lang Jiuchuan sneered. "Some evil ghosts specialize in devouring souls to strengthen themselves, it's quite normal."

"That's normal," Liang Jinfeng disagreed, "it's terrifying."

Ning Shaosi said, "So you mean that my father can't die now, and even if he does, he can't be reincarnated? If he is reincarnated, he will only be a fool?"

"It's not that he won't die, his yang fire is about to go out, it's only a matter of days." Lang Jiuchuan said calmly, "But if you don't come to find me, he will definitely not be able to reincarnate after he dies."

"Why? Didn't you say that if you were reincarnated in the underworld, you would become an idiot?" Liang Jinfeng asked, puzzled.

“If you hadn’t come looking for him, this one soul within him would have left his body upon his death. With only one soul, how could he enter the underworld? He would only wander in the mortal realm and eventually vanish into nothingness. As for the other soul and spirit, they are already so weak they are about to dissipate. Without underworld messengers to guide him, how could he enter the gates of hell?” Lang Jiuchuan sighed. “If you come to me, I can merge these remnant souls together and send him to the gates of hell, so that underworld messengers can guide him. It’s the same principle as the saying in the mortal realm: having connections in the court makes things easier, understand?”

Liang Jinfeng cupped his hands in apology: "I apologize for my disrespect."

The world of gods and demons is indeed extraordinary.

Ning Shaosi wiped away his tears and said, "Then my father is completely beyond saving, right?"

Even if a person wakes up, they can't be the same as before. Sooner or later, they will die, and they will die painfully. And even if they are reincarnated, they can't be reborn as a normal person.

The world treated them, father and son, so unfairly.

"I can't save him. At least I can't give you a normal father, nor can I help him reincarnate as a complete person." Even if there are people in the underworld, she can't possibly reincarnate this remnant soul as a complete soul.

Ning Shaosi was indeed intelligent; upon hearing this, he immediately grasped the underlying meaning: "You mean there's something abnormal?"

"Have someone help nourish your father's soul, using the power of merit to reshape it." Before he could ask, Lang Jiuchuan said, "If your father wants to be reborn as a complete human, this remnant soul must be nourished, using the power of merit. This is the so-called cause and effect, the power of merit and vows will shape his body, and when the merit is complete, he can be reborn. Heaven, out of consideration for the merit, will not allow him to be reborn incomplete."

"Can you do it?" Ning Shaosi asked.

Lang Jiuchuan shook his head: "I can't, but I know someone who can, provided you're willing."

Ning Shaosi was taken aback. What was there to be unwilling about?

“Once you agree, your father will become someone else. In other words, someone else will be using your father’s body. The price is that he will help your father shape his soul.” Lang Jiuchuan looked at him: “From now on, your father’s body will be your father’s, but the true owner will be someone else. To put it simply, it’s what we call possession!”

(End of this chapter)