Folk customs begin with the entire funeral procession

Chapter 185 The Old Man's Obsession (Part 2)

Shi Manman's uncle Li Qun's family lived in a town under the jurisdiction of Shannan City.

The town is not as wealthy as Longtang Town; it's just an ordinary town.

Apart from one or two relatively bustling streets in the town center, there are only a few newly built residential areas around the town that distinguish it from the villages.

Apart from the central area, the rest of the area consists of villages that are fairly well-developed.

Li Qun's family lives in Xia Li Village, which is located on the edge of the town.

Although the houses built by the three Li brothers were not adjacent to each other, they were still quite close together.

The old man's family was wealthy before. Although they suffered some misfortune during the war, the old man himself was also capable.

Therefore, the Li family was generally well-off, and they all lived in three-story villas in the village.

However, most of the time, Li Qun and his family were not in the village, but stayed in the county town. Their two daughters were married to people from the surrounding counties.

Chen Miao parked his car in Li Qun's yard.

After getting off the bus, he saw a group of people.

Saying that they lined the streets to welcome him is a bit of an exaggeration, but the scene of twenty or thirty people waiting at Li Qun's door could be considered a warm welcome.

But when Chen Miao followed and slowly walked over, the first thing he heard was doubt.

"Manman, is this the master you invited?"

Shi nodded slowly and said, "Yes, this is him."

Li Qun hesitated for a moment, but finally extended his hand.

"Greetings, Master. I am Li Qun. May I ask your name?"

"Just call me Chen Miao."

"Alright, Master Chen, please come in."

Chen Miao nodded and followed Li Qun inside. During the process, the gazes from both sides were quite complicated.

What surprised Chen Miao even more was that after he finished talking with Li Qun, several faint signs of malice appeared around him!

Chen Miao turned his head and looked around. When he saw the wary gazes, he understood.

Perhaps it's because of his youth that these people see him as a fraud like that fortune teller from before.

Feeling helpless.

Indeed, a master only seems more authentic when he has a white beard.

For some reason, Chen Miao thought of the great sorcerer who had appeared at Xie Songde's house.

Looking at his own clothes, Chen Miao felt it was normal to be misunderstood.

Soon, Chen Miao sat down on the sofa, and Li Qun and his five siblings also took their seats. Shi Manman stood next to Chen Miao and handed him tea.

After Chen Miao took a sip of tea, Li Qun's elder brother spoke up.

"Master Chen, what is the procedure for the next steps? Is there anything we can help you with?"

Chen Miao shook his head.

"Just prepare a place. I've brought everything you need. If you're all ready, we can go directly to see the elders."

Chen Miao's directness surprised everyone.

"So, things will be over tonight?"

Chen Miao nodded.

"If nothing unexpected happens, that's how it will be."

After exchanging glances with the others, Li Qun looked at Shi Manman again, then turned and took out a bag.

"Master Chen, this is cash, 250,000."

This was something Li Qun and his group had planned. Although cash was inconvenient to carry, it would make it easier for them to get it back after they discovered Chen Miao was a fraudster!

Chen Miao didn't care about their ulterior motives. After glancing at the money in the bag, he said to Shi Manman, "Shi Manman, you keep this for me for now. I'll come back to get it from you later."

After saying that, Chen Miao stood up.

"Where is the old man? Take me there."

Chen Miao's decision to give the money to Shi Man for safekeeping surprised Li Qun and the others.

This action immediately eliminated most of the malice surrounding Chen Miao.

Chen Miao's composure clearly put these people at ease.

As for whether Shi Manman is Chen Miao's accomplice?

They weren't afraid; it was only 250,000 yuan. Shi Manman's family couldn't afford it, so Li Qun's family would have to shoulder the debt.

As a result, the smiles on everyone's faces became much more genuine, and they led Chen Miao all the way to Brother Li Qun's house.

The body lay in state in a mourning hall set up in the courtyard.

It was already December, and at this temperature, although the old man had been lying in the coffin for three or four days, his body had not decomposed.

The amount of yin energy in the elderly person's surroundings was normal, and there were no signs of ghosts or spirits.

Furthermore, since the seventh day after death has not yet passed, according to Shi Manman, the old man should still have lingering attachments, so the probability of successfully casting the "Soul Summoning Technique" is very high.

Chen Miao used his Yin-Yang Eyes to look around, then opened the book and glanced at it.

After confirming that nothing was amiss, Chen Miao pointed to a table and said, "Help me move a table next to the coffin."

The two younger men enthusiastically carried a table and set it up, then stepped back a few paces to look at Chen Miao, a young man who wasn't much older than them.

Chen Miao ignored them. After all, this was just a job for money, some preparatory work. Let them watch if they want.

Immediately, he started taking things out of his bag.

A talisman brush, cinnabar, an inkstone, chicken blood, a tree branch with pomelo leaves, seven candlesticks, seven white candles, and a bell.

The chicken blood was leftover from drawing a high-quality talisman, and the bell was a corpse-controlling bell.

The final step of the "Soul Summoning Technique" requires the use of a bell, but it doesn't specify what kind of bell it is, only that it needs to be rang to wake the person. So Chen Miao temporarily used the Corpse Control Bell.

After preparing the offerings, Chen Miao walked to the altar where the offerings were placed in the mourning hall, picked up three incense sticks, lit them with the candles on the altar, and bowed to the portrait of the deceased.

"I apologize for any inconvenience caused."

After speaking softly, Chen Miao inserted the incense sticks into the incense burner.

After doing all that, Chen Miao said to the young man next to him, "Bring me a bowl of water, tap water is fine."

As he spoke, Chen Miao began to place seven white candles into seven bronze candlesticks.

The candlesticks were found by Chen Miao in the funeral home's store warehouse, and the pomelo branches were also taken from the warehouse freezer.

These pomelo branches in the warehouse are not for sale.

Some people are particular and will use pomelo branches to cleanse themselves of bad luck at the end of the memorial service. Pomelo branches are not expensive, so my uncle bought a batch and provided them at the entrance of the memorial hall for those who needed them.

The "Soul Summoning Technique" also requires pomelo leaves, so Chen Miao took one out of the freezer.

When the seven candles were ready, the water arrived.

Chen Miao picked some pomelo leaves and put them in a bowl to soak. Then he picked up cinnabar and chicken blood and poured them into the inkstone.

Chen Miao looked up at Shi Manman and waved for her to come over.

"You grind the powder, and stop when I'm done with the other side."

Shi Manman, who was still holding the bag of money, suddenly brightened up when she heard Chen Miao say that.

He threw the money bag directly next to Chen Miao's bag and began grinding.

Chen Miao called Shi Manman over, not specifically to have her do things, but to let her participate and experience it.

After all, this soul-summoning was Shi Manman's first time encountering a ghost, so being able to participate in it should be quite meaningful.

While slowly grinding the ink, Chen Miao placed the seven candlesticks on the ground on the other side of the coffin, arranging them according to the Big Dipper orientation.

Because he had previously crafted the Seven Star Peach Wood Sword, Chen Miao was quite familiar with the positions.

After arranging the items, Chen Miao did not light the candles. Instead, he walked to the table, picked up the bowl containing the pomelo leaves, and went to the coffin.

Looking at the peaceful old man in the coffin, Chen Miao took a pomelo leaf from the bowl and wiped the old man's forehead and throat one by one.

Pomelo leaves are said to cleanse the body and dispel bad luck, and the area Chen Miao is wiping is also the area where talismans will be drawn later.

After wiping those two areas, Chen Miao had the old man place his hands on either side of his body, palms up, and then had them open his clothes and take off his shoes.

Chen Miao's series of professional actions had already quieted down the Li family members around him, and no one objected to Chen Miao's arrangements at this time.

Afterwards, Chen Miao wiped the old man's palms, chest, and soles of his feet with pomelo leaves.

After doing all this, Chen Miao put down the bowl and walked over to Shi Manman's side.

"All right."

After slowly making way, Chen Miao dipped his talisman brush in the ink and returned to the coffin.

With the activation of Yin Absorption, Chen Miao's palm was soon enveloped in a sufficiently dense mass of Yin energy.

He bent down and began to write.

Chen Miao drew a simple talisman on the old man's forehead, followed by his throat, chest, palms, and soles.

After drawing the talismans in the seven locations, Chen Miao put down his pen, took out his windproof lighter, and walked towards the seven candles on the ground.

It starts from the position of the Broken Army Star and ends at the position of the Greedy Wolf Star.

After all seven lamps were lit, Chen Miao had Shi Manman take the bell.

Now, only the final step remains.

Chen Miao's gaze swept over the people in the mourning hall, and finally he said to Li Qun, "The old man's soul is weak. There are too many of you. Leave his children behind, and the rest of you should stay away and not disturb him."

Hearing this, the group was somewhat disappointed, but they still obediently left.

After everyone left, Chen Miao said to the five people, "You stand at the end of the coffin. If the soul-summoning is successful, kneel down and ask the questions you want to ask."

Whether you get the answer depends on your luck.

After the five people stood in position, Chen Miao glanced at the time; it wasn't even eleven o'clock yet. He switched his Yin-Yang Eyes to the Yin Bridge and began to wait patiently.

Ten minutes isn't a long time, but apart from Chen Miao, everyone else felt that ten minutes was very long.

When it was eleven o'clock, Chen Miao asked Shi to slowly turn off the lights in the mourning hall.

Once only candlelight remained in the mourning hall, Chen Miao lifted the bell.

Recalling the old man's name, Chen Miao activated Ice Heart and shook his wrist.

"Bell~"

The yin energy flowed within the yin bridge under the tongue, and Chen Miao opened his mouth and called out:
"Li Jianhong!"

The first call to action caused a sudden whirlwind to sweep through the mourning hall, causing the candlelight to flicker.

Once the wind stopped, Chen Miao called out a second time.

"Bell~"

"Li Jianhong!"

Suddenly, everyone felt that the temperature in the mourning hall had dropped a bit.

The five people standing at the end of the coffin were already feeling uneasy, while the two women clung tightly to the arms of their brother beside them, hiding themselves behind him.

Previously, the five of them only thought about calling back the soul and then obtaining the old man's last words, but none of them had considered whether calling back the soul was as simple as they thought.

At least now, some people are already starting to regret it.

Just then, the third sound rang out.

"Bell~"

"Li Jianhong!"

After the third voice, imbued with yin energy, was heard, the seven candles between Chen Miao and the coffin suddenly turned a ghastly green!

The two candles that were originally lit in the mourning hall were extinguished!
The entire mourning hall instantly turned a ghastly green.

This scene terrified Li Jianhong's two daughters, causing them to scream.

Chen Miao glared angrily and let out a low shout.

"Shut up!"

Li Qun and his elder brother hurriedly covered the mouths of the two women, even though they themselves were trembling uncontrollably.

After the candlelight turned green, their doubts about whether Chen Miao was a fraud were long forgotten.

Never before had they felt such deep trust in someone, to the point that they even wanted to hide behind Chen Miao.

Before they could act, a pale green, illusory figure, illuminated by candlelight, slowly floated up from the coffin.

If it's not Li Jianhong, then who else could it be!

Pfft!Pfft!
The five people knelt down together. Some were weak in the knees, and some were afraid. At this moment, none of them knelt out of respect for their father.

Seeing the five people standing there dumbfounded, Chen Miao reminded them again, "If you have anything you want to ask your father, hurry up and ask!"

As he said this, Chen Miao's gaze was still fixed on the seven lamps.

The light goes out, the soul returns home.

Based on the burning rate of the seven lamps at this moment, Li Jianhong probably can only exist for two or three minutes!
The first to react was Li Qun's older brother!
He looked at his father's spirit, which had already stood up, and said in a trembling voice, "Dad, Dad, where is your pot of gold? Tell us where it is, Dad! Dad!"

Upon hearing this, the old man was moved.

He floated down from above the coffin and drifted towards the exit of the mourning hall.

After realizing what was happening, Chen Miao ran out ahead of time, told the people in the room to turn off all the lights, and told them to go back to their rooms.

Some people didn't know what had happened; only a few children who had been peeping shouted and ran back to their rooms.

At Chen Miao's urging, the others also returned to their rooms.

Just then, Li Jianhong's illusory figure, emitting a faint white light, floated into the living room and headed in one direction.

Chen Miao asked the three men, including Li Qun, who had followed him in, "Did the old man live over there before?"

"Yes, it is!"

The eldest son of the Li family replied.

Chen Miao thought to himself, "Sure enough, the thing that's holding Li Jianhong so captivated must be in Li Jianhong's room."

But why weren't the Li family members found before?

Chen Miao didn't understand, so he followed.

The three Li brothers wanted to go forward, but Chen Miao told them to stay where they were and not move.

He himself could also use yin energy to envelop his body and suppress yang energy. If the three of them went over, they might be able to shatter the old man's soul.

Chen Miao opened the old man's door.

Then, he saw Li Jianhong standing in front of an old wooden table. He watched as Li Jianhong reached out and knocked on the bottom of the table.

Click!

A hidden compartment popped out from the side of the table.

Chen Miao was taken aback.

It wasn't because of the hidden compartment that he was stunned, but because Li Jianhong was actually able to touch the table and that made him stunned!
"Is his soul able to influence physical objects?"

Just as Chen Miao was wondering, Li Jianhong did two more things that surprised him.

He actually took two things out of the hidden compartment!

Not only can you touch the physical items, you can also get your hands on them!

Is it Li Jianhong who is special, or is it that table that is special?
Chen Miao looked closely and saw that Li Jianhong was holding a 20-centimeter-long stick in one hand and a... windmill in the other.
Chen Miao was stunned, confirming that what he saw was indeed a windmill.

Just as Chen Miao was wondering, Li Jianhong had already floated outside with two items in his hands.

The three Li brothers quickly stepped aside.

After Li Jianhong left, they turned their pleading eyes to Chen Miao.

"Follow!"

Chen Miao didn't say much and followed directly, with Shi Manman closely following behind.

This time, Li Jianhong did not return to the mourning hall, but instead passed through the courtyard gate and drifted outside.

Fortunately, it was already close to midnight, and there was no one else outside.

Otherwise, if you see a ghost late at night without any preparation, you might get scared out of your wits.

Chen Miao opened the door and followed him out.

The three Li brothers were no longer so panicked. Seeing their grandfather leave, they were all somewhat excited.

Old man, are you going to find gold?

The group followed for about a minute, and then Li Jianhong stopped by the roadside, surrounded by fields.

By the moonlight, Chen Miao saw Li Jianhong combine the windmill and the stick in his hand.

Chen Miao then realized that the stick was also part of the windmill!

After assembling the windmill, Li Jianhong faced the field, gripped the stick, and shakily lifted the windmill.

The windmill stood motionless in mid-air, and Li Jianhong stood there as if waiting for the wind to come.

But at this point, his body had already begun to fade.

Watching this scene, watching the old man holding a windmill and waiting for the wind to come.

Chen Miao's body suddenly trembled.

He seemed to understand something, and his feelings became somewhat complicated.

Taking a step forward, Chen Miao silently walked over and stopped two meters behind Li Jianhong.

Intake Yin, activate!
Yin energy from all directions converged on Chen Miao's location.

Because Chen Miao gathered very quickly, the yin energy caused the air to move, creating a gentle breeze.

In the gentle breeze, the windmill in Li Jianhong's hand slowly began to turn.

Li Jianhong smiled as he looked at the windmill in his hand.

Like a child who has received a toy, he held the spinning windmill and shook it by the field.

Chen Miao couldn't see Li Jianhong's face, but when he saw the windmill turning, he smiled as if he were seeing his own childhood.

The windmill only rotated for three to five seconds before it fell to the ground from the air because it lost its support.

Chen Miao stepped forward, picked up the handmade windmill that had been hidden for who knows how long, and stared blankly.

Li Jianhong's obsession wasn't gold, nor his children, but a windmill.

Or rather, it's Li Jianhong's childhood that he can never return to.

On his deathbed, Li Jianhong's biggest regret was that he could no longer stand by the fields like he did when he was a child, holding a windmill and watching it spin freely.

Despite experiencing so many hardships throughout his life, Li Jianhong's wish was so simple in his final moments.

For whom do we live our lives?

not far away.

Seeing their father behaving like a child, the three Li brothers were already sobbing uncontrollably as they squatted on the ground.

At this moment, they were not greedy middle-aged men looking for gold.

They were just three children who would never have a father again, that's all.

Chen Miao snapped out of his daze, gripped the windmill in his hand that emitted a faint yin aura, and walked towards Shi Manman's direction.

……

(End of this chapter)