Folk customs begin with the entire funeral procession

Chapter 104 Soul-Suppressing Memorial Tablet
Cypress wood is said to have yin and yang properties.

Some people believe that cypress wood belongs to the yang element.

Because cypress trees are evergreen and do not wither in the cold winter, they are regarded as a symbol of vitality and eternity.

In folklore, cypress wood is believed to be evergreen, immortal, and capable of warding off evil spirits and protecting the soul.

Therefore, cypress wood is often called "evergreen wood" or "material for calming the soul".

Because cypress wood is rot-resistant and insect-resistant, it is also often used to make coffins and memorial tablets.

Cypress wood memorial tablets are believed to be able to stabilize the souls of the deceased and prevent wandering spirits from causing trouble.

Some people also believe that cypress wood is yin in nature.

This is because cypress trees are often planted in cemeteries and absorb yin energy over a long period of time, and are therefore considered to have "internal yin energy".

But none of these were the reasons why Chen Miao chose the cypress wood memorial tablet.

Chen Miao chose the cypress wood memorial tablet mainly because the small wooden house he had previously lived in was also made of cypress wood.

Although the "Curse of the Buddha - Great Compassion and Soul-Suppressing Sutra" says that it can be written on any material, different materials will produce different effects.

Chen Miao only knew about the effects of cypress wood, so he chose cypress wood.

As for why he didn't exchange it in the book, it's because the cypress wood he exchanged was raw material, and Chen Miao still had to make it himself.

If you only split it into planks, only a small portion will be usable; the rest will be wasted.

Given Chen Miao's current situation, the more good deeds he accumulates, the better.

Therefore, Chen Miao directly contacted the factory that makes memorial tablets.

Fortunately, there was always stock available there, so Chen Miao ordered a batch of the best cypress wood memorial tablets, intending to use them to carry the "Curse of the Buddha - Great Compassion and Soul-Suppressing Vow Sutra" and make a batch of soul-suppressing memorial tablets!
……

During the time it took to slowly retrieve the memorial tablet, Chen Miao continued to practice transcribing scriptures on ordinary memorial tablets.

After practicing for a while, he can now write all the Sanskrit characters very accurately. There may still be mistakes, but the probability of a mistake is only one in five.

So Chen Miao bought ten memorial tablets. Even if he was unlucky, he should be able to succeed in getting three or five!
As for the materials needed for transcribing, Chen Miao had already calculated them.

To achieve the best results, Chen Miao naturally wouldn't use ordinary cinnabar and chicken blood.

Even in the worst-case scenario, if all ten memorial tablets need to be written down to reach the required number, then at least three bowls of chicken blood and six coins of cinnabar would be needed, totaling nine coins of merit!
If you want to exchange it...

Of course, it can't be that unlucky!
This is why Chen Miao didn't dare to exchange for cypress wood again. A piece of cypress wood similar to the previous century-old peach wood would require two coins of merit, not even counting the cost of a failed crafting.

If they were to actually use century-old cypress wood, Chen Miao's good karma would probably be completely gone.

This is something Chen Miao cannot tolerate.

Using the "Curse the Buddha - Great Compassion and Soul-Suppressing Sutra" was just an experiment for Chen Miao. It's impossible for him to invest all his good deeds in it just because of one experiment.

If things go wrong, it will put Chen Miao in a very difficult situation.

Therefore, Chen Miao needs to be cautious.

When Shi returned slowly, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon.

After taking the cypress wood memorial tablet, Chen Miao did not begin immediately, but instead lay down on the bed and took a nap.

I slept for three hours.

After getting up and having dinner, Chen Miao took a shower.

Aside from not burning incense, Chen Miao tried his best to be in the best possible state.

After everything was prepared, Chen Miao exchanged his first bowl of chicken blood and his first bottle of cinnabar.

Grind the ink, put down the brush, with an icy heart, gather yin!
……

Shannan City, Central Hospital.

On Thursday night, Xiang Shang felt a little downcast when Chen Miao didn't show up.

Looking at the broken peach charm in his hand, Xiang Shang felt a chill.

When he woke up in the morning, he saw the broken peach charm. He hadn't even noticed it last night, and neither had Li Zi. But Li Zi didn't know what the broken peach charm meant.

Xiang Shang didn't tell her too much, not wanting to frighten her.

But some things can't be hidden. "Xiang Shang, I just heard someone in the colleagues' group say... that Zhang Ya and the others are all dead."

Gigi Lai held up her phone and said.

Xiang Shang's eye twitched.

"Don't worry, Sanshui said he would solve it, and he definitely will. He has never let me down since we were little."

Speaking of Chen Miao, Xiang Shang's tension dissipated considerably.

To ease the tension, Xiang Shang began to tell Gigi Lai about his relationship with Chen Miao.

“Back when Sanshui’s parents were still alive, we were considered the two little tyrants among the children of our age in Tianmen County. After all, our family was rich and could buy many things that ordinary families couldn’t. All the children liked to play with us.”

“I remember once, the two of us were robbed by a group of young thugs. They not only took our money, but they also told us that we had to take money from them every day.”

"I was impulsive back then, and I thought I would fight the bad guys like in the movies, even if it meant sacrificing my life heroically."

"But Chen Miao didn't; he pulled me away."

"The next day, I didn't go to deliver the money to those guys, but in the afternoon, Chen Miao came to tell me that those guys would never dare to rob us again."

“At the time, I didn’t know why Chen Miao would say that. It wasn’t until later, when my dad was laughing and talking about it with my mom at home, that I found out what Chen Miao had done.”

Gigi Lai was also intrigued by Xiang Shang and just stared at him.

"Hehe, my dad said that Chen Miao stole five thousand yuan from Uncle Chen that day and went to deliver the money with the five thousand yuan in his pocket."

"After those guys happily took the money, Chen Miao contacted an uncle who worked at the police station."

"Then those guys got arrested."

"Five thousand dollars was no small sum more than ten years ago! Those guys were a gang, and the leader was sentenced to eight years in prison. That was because they didn't cause any casualties; otherwise, it would have been at least ten years."

“You know what? When I asked Chen Miao how he knew to do this, he said he overheard the police officer talking to Uncle Chen.”

"He dared to try based on just a piece of information he heard, even if he might fail and lose the five thousand yuan, he wasn't afraid at all."

“From that time on, I have always admired Chen Miao. I believe that Chen Miao will definitely be successful when he grows up, and I must follow him!”

At this point, a hint of sadness flashed in Xiang Shang's eyes.

"Later, Uncle Chen and his wife passed away unexpectedly, and Chen Miao became unusually silent from then on."

"Until he graduated from high school, he chose funeral service as his major, something no one expected. The reason was simply that he had a fever when his grandfather passed away."

Xiang Shang smiled.

"At the time, I didn't understand. I thought Chen Miao had given up and wanted to lie down."

"Looking back now, the man who made that decision back then was no different from the man who stole five thousand yuan back then."

"He is still him, but I think he is no longer him."

Thinking about how the middle-aged man Chen Miao brought the day before yesterday had saved Gigi Lai's life, Xiang Shang felt even more emotional.

Chen Miao is still the same Chen Miao.

Once he has chosen a path and sticks to it, he will surely succeed.

This is the stereotype that Chen Miao left on Xiang Shang.

"So, he really is quite capable."

Gigi Lai spoke up.

Just as Xiang Shang was about to nod, he suddenly heard a faint click.

His expression changed, and he reached into his pocket and took out the three peach charms.

One of the two peachwood charms that was originally intact has shattered!
This one even shattered into six pieces, even more completely than the previous one!
Xiang Shang looked up and saw Gigi Lai.

In her hands, she held a six-petaled peach charm fragment, just like Xiang Shang's.

……

(End of this chapter)