Eternal madness

Chapter 32 Siming's Corpse-Breaking Curse

Zhang Laifu saved Li Yunsheng's life, and Li Yunsheng himself would feel guilty if he didn't tell the truth.

"I aspired to study medicine since I was a child, and I really wanted to study modern medicine. I also have a deep understanding of modern medicine. It was an accident that I entered the field of Zhuyou (a traditional Chinese medicine practice), but in this field, I discovered many valuable medical concepts."

Brother Laifu, you are from out of state. If you have some knowledge of immunology, you should know that the vast majority of pathogens a person encounters in their lifetime are cleared by the human immune system. Pathogens that can be cleared entirely by drugs account for only a small portion.

The Zhu You school utilizes this biological characteristic, curing diseases by improving the body's own functions, and has deep roots in out-of-state medicine.

Zhang Laifu didn't understand medicine, but he could understand the principle: "In other words, when you cured the yin energy in my body, you actually mobilized my own bodily functions to expel the yin energy?"

“It’s not just about expelling, but also about controlling and transforming. Yin energy is a toxin with very clear chemical composition and properties. The process of controlling and transforming it requires some special conditions…” Li Yunsheng said while listing equations.

Zhang Laifu pretended to look at it seriously, nodding from time to time. The dignity of higher education is important, but a person with dignity may not necessarily be able to understand the equation.

"Brother Yunsheng, I understand everything you said before, but what about the night watchman? You pulled a worm out of his gums, what does that have to do with the immune system?"

Li Yunsheng first corrected a conceptual error: "My introduction of the essence of Zhuyouke from an immunological perspective does not mean that Zhuyouke can only mobilize the defense capabilities of the immune system. Zhuyouke mobilizes the functions of the entire body."

The treatment consisted of three steps. First, I used incantations to strengthen the watchman's physical functions and dispel the resentment and poison on the insect. Without the resentment and poison, the insect also lost its special abilities and became an ordinary worm.

The second step was to use the talisman to stimulate the watchman's gums, causing them to contract rapidly in a short time, squeezing out the powerless worms. This is based on the same principle as when I had you hold a talisman, which made you run incredibly fast—both are results of mobilizing your own bodily functions.

Having personally experienced the effects of the talisman, Zhang Laifu found Li Yunsheng's explanation easy to understand.

But there was one more detail that Zhang Laifu felt was very important: "When you were treating the night watchman, you mentioned the ingot-shaped candles. Did the night watchman actually burn ingots afterward? Was it to appease the resentment of the deceased's spirit?"

"I did send the watchman to burn candles and ingots in the ash pit, but not to appease the resentment of the dead. The bodies in the ash pit had already been cleared away by the police, and the dead are not in the ash pit."

Burning paper money candles is the third step in the healing process; it's not for the deceased's spirit, but for the night watchman.

The night watchman's temperament is different from yours; he doesn't trust himself and is prone to self-doubt.

Resentment poison is also a toxin with known components. Although most of the toxins have been neutralized during the treatment, some toxins remain. If the night watchman feels that his illness has not been cured, the remaining resentment poison is likely to relapse.

I had him burn ingot-shaped candles to reinforce the idea that his illness was completely cured. This was an important strategy to help him eliminate any remaining toxins, similar to a placebo in out-of-state medicine.

"So, you have absolutely no way to deal with the spirits of the dead?"

Li Yunsheng nodded: "It's not that I don't want to help you, I really have no other choice. To deal with the spirits of the dead, we really have to rely on the Celestial Masters. That's what they do in their profession."

"Old Yu of Hunlong Village was a Taoist priest. He went there and was blown into fifty or sixty pieces."

"Fifty or sixty?" Li Yunsheng was a meticulous person. "Brother Laifu, did you count them carefully?"

Zhang Laifu shook his head: "It's just an estimate."

Li Yunsheng still found it unbelievable: "The Celestial Master should be able to deal with the dead easily, but this dead soul was able to kill the Celestial Master. His background is not simple. Do you know what his name is?"

"His name is Old Helmsman, and he claims to be the boatman for the Lin family."

"That's hard to say. Many of the helmsmen on the ships are called 'Old Helmsmen.' The Lin family owns many ships, and the profession of helmsman is quite prosperous in Heishakou. It's probably impossible to find any clues for the time being."

Zhang Laifu was taken aback: "There's a profession called helmsman?"

"Yes! The pillar of the Lin family, the eldest young master Lin Shaoming, is a fifth-floor craftsman, a master of the trade, and he's the one in charge!"

Zhang Laifu shook his head and said, "Old Helmsman isn't the one who steers the ship, what is he again...?"

After thinking for a while, Zhang Laifu remembered what Lao Yu had said: "He is a drum maker, and this drum was given to me by him."

“A drum maker?” Li Yunsheng took the broken drum from Zhang Laifu’s hand and examined it carefully. “This is different. As the saying goes, it takes three years to learn to be a carpenter, but five years to learn to be a drum maker.”

"Being a drum maker is a difficult trade to learn, and there are very few skilled craftsmen. This makes it much easier to find one. I can help you look it up. There probably haven't been many drum makers in Heishakou..." "By the time you find out, I'll probably have already settled things with him." Zhang Laifu's expression was very calm when he said the word "settled things."

“Brother Laifu, you’ve already run away from the old house twice, why do you still insist on going back? Do you really need this job?” Li Yunsheng found it hard to understand.

The job isn't important; what's important is the bowl, and we must get it back.

But right now, Li Yunsheng can't help. Ordinary celestial masters are useless, and high-level celestial masters are hard to find. What other solutions can he come up with?
Actually, Lao Yu wasn't so useless; he did leave a mark, didn't he?

Zhang Laifu picked up paper and pen from the table and drew out the marks left by Lao Yu from memory: "Brother Li, can you take a look and tell me what these marks are for?"

His drawing skills were a bit rough. Li Yunsheng looked at it for a long time before finally recognizing the general idea: "This is the character '骸' (hai), written in seal script. It should be the Siming Pohai Incantation used by the Celestial Master."

What is the Siming Shattering Curse?

Li Yunsheng first clarified: "I study some talismans of the Celestial Masters, but I don't know how to use them. There are boundaries between different sects, and no one can cross those boundaries."

The Corpse-Breaking Spell is one of the spells commonly used by Taoist priests. Its purpose is to destroy the remains of the deceased soul. The remains are the last link between the deceased soul and this world. Once the remains are destroyed, the deceased soul will dissipate.

The Celestial Master often uses the Soul-Breaking Spell to destroy the souls of the dead. If you see the Celestial Master use the Soul-Breaking Spell, it proves that he has found the location of the remains.

Zhang Laifu couldn't help but exclaim, "Old Yu really has real skills."

When the two sides clashed, Lao Yu was at an absolute disadvantage, powerless to fight back, and seriously injured. Under such circumstances, he was still able to calculate the location of the skeleton. No wonder he was nicknamed Yu the Calculator.

Li Yunsheng examined the talisman drawn by Zhang Laifu more closely, but he was not sure: "This talisman is not drawn completely, and I am not sure if it is the Breaking Body Curse."

Zhang Laifu thought about Lao Yu's situation at the time and also had some doubts: "Did he write this talisman on the spot? If it were a common talisman, why didn't he always carry it with him?"

Li Yunsheng shook his head and said, "The Corpse-Breaking Spell cannot be carried on your person at all times. This spell can drill into the ground, break coffins, and even drill open the stones in a large tomb. Such a powerful spell must be written and used immediately with the blood of a Celestial Master. Once the blood dries, the spell will no longer work."

Write it on the spot and use it immediately?

Zhang Laifu also wanted to find a Taoist master to buy two talismans, but it seems that won't work either.

But the fact that Lao Yu left a talisman on the ground proves that he has located the skeleton.

Although Zhang Laifu did not have the Disintegration Curse, if he dug up the bones and destroyed them, wouldn't that be the same as disintegrating the bones?
“Brother Yunsheng, the old helmsman is very familiar with the old house. He must have stayed there for a long time. He must know where my remains are, so he should protect them carefully, right?”

Li Yunsheng thought for a moment and shook his head slightly: "Most of the dead do not know where their remains are because their perception has changed fundamentally. Even if the remains are placed in front of them, they cannot recognize them."

If this old boatman has stayed in the old house for many years, it proves that he is likely trapped by the remains and unable to leave. If he could truly find his own remains, he would probably have left the house with them long ago.

Zhang Laifu's eyes lit up: "Brother Li, do you have a way to destroy the remains?"

Li Yunsheng reiterated: "I am a doctor, and I only do things to save lives."

I only do things like destroying corpses occasionally; sometimes, it's out of necessity to prevent the spread of disease.

Zhang Laifu nodded repeatedly: "Brother Yunsheng is a good person!"

Li Yunsheng gave Zhang Laifu a bottle of medicine.

"Pour this potion onto the skeleton, and it will dissolve within ten minutes. Remember, this stuff won't work on the living; it can only dissolve corpses."

Seeing that the bottle wasn't very big, Zhang Laifu worried that the dosage wouldn't be enough.

Li Yunsheng was very confident: "Even if there are more than a dozen corpses, this bottle of medicine will be enough. I'm not saying this because I've done anything wrong, I'm just scientifically estimating the dosage."

Zhang Laifu took the medicine and nodded again: "Brother Yunsheng is really a good person."

(End of this chapter)