Unorthodox methods, cultivating immortality relies on rich women

Seeing Wu Suyun leave with Xiao Qiu and Wu Ying, Shen Qingzhou took out five paper figures from his pocket and arranged them neatly on the table. These were the five paper figures he had used to exorcise ghosts today.

The paper figures are all cut from yellow paper, and their size and shape are exactly the same, as if they were copied. However, the runes drawn on them each have their own mystery.

Apart from a spiral pattern drawn in the center of the paper figure's navel using cinnabar mixed with ink, the other tadpole-shaped runes are all different in shape, size, and arrangement, as if the paper figure were dressed in a custom-made outfit.

"Hey~, you're in luck. I'm a kind-hearted person, so I've decided to send you into reincarnation for free."

After taking the last drag of his cigarette, Shen Qingzhou stubbed it out of the ashtray, picked up the five paper figures from the table, and got up to go to the next room.

The dimly lit room was filled with a faint scent of incense.

Shen Qingzhou raised her hand and turned on the light in the corner of the wall. The dim red light slowly spread out, stretching the shadows in the room long and not too bright, but just enough to make the furnishings visible.

He walked straight to the altar and lit three incense sticks for the strangely shaped ancestral tablet on it.

As wisps of smoke rose, he inserted the incense into the censer before the ancestral tablet, his movements unhurried and deliberate, with an almost rigid formality.

Then he turned around and sat cross-legged on the prayer mat in front of the offering table, reaching out to pick up the stack of yellow paper next to him.

With a gentle flick of his wrist, the yellow paper spontaneously combusted, the orange-red flames silently licking the edge of the paper without a single spark flying.

With a flick of his finger, Shen Qingzhou sent the burning yellow paper steadily falling into the brazier in front of him.

The flames in the brazier suddenly shot up, sizzling and licking the air, casting flickering light and shadow on his profile.

Immediately afterwards, Shen Qingzhou began to chant scriptures in a low voice.

The tone was strange, lacking any rhythm or beauty, and not even pleasant to listen to. It was devoid of any emotional fluctuation, as if it were just a heartless chanting machine.

The scripture vaguely resembles the Rebirth Mantra, but upon closer inspection, it is entirely different. It is more like a string of illogical words pieced together, obscure and difficult to understand.

But Shen Qingzhou read it very seriously, his eyes slightly closed, his expression focused, and his expression even showed a rare hint of piety.

The smoke from the burning yellow paper initially swirled and lingered above the brazier, as if it were alive and would not dissipate.

A moment later, the smoke suddenly rose high, piercing the void, and intertwined in the air to outline a winding path. The smoke condensed and did not dissipate, shimmering with a faint grayish-white luster, like a dark path leading to an unknown other side.

At this moment, Shen Qingzhou stopped reciting the scriptures, picked up the five paper figures on the table with his fingertips, and threw them one by one into the brazier.

The first one thrown into the flames was the boy who had been swallowed by the green-haired turtle.

The flames instantly licked upwards, completely engulfing the yellow paper.

Just as the paper figure turned to ashes, a blurry figure of a young boy appeared out of thin air above the brazier.

Compared to when they first met in the morning, his soul was now covered with dense tadpole-shaped runes. The boy was completely unaware of this, only looking around with a bit of bewildered curiosity.

But at that very moment, the smoke rising from the brazier suddenly surged, circling his soul like a tangible ribbon.

The next second, the boy's figure shrank rapidly and he stepped onto the misty road. His eyes became dull, as if all his self-awareness had been taken away, and he had become a puppet.

Then, following that gray, misty road, I walked forward step by step until I disappeared at the end of the misty road.

Shen Qingzhou performed the same operation on the remaining paper figures.

First it was the green-haired turtle's wife, then it was that elderly couple.

Shen Qingzhou didn't communicate with them at all, and simply mechanically saw them off on their way.

Even the green-haired turtle was treated the same way; Shen Qingzhou did not discriminate in any way.

Just as the green-haired turtle stepped onto the misty road, about to reach its end and dissipate into the void, he, who should have completely lost his mind, suddenly turned around and glanced at Shen Qingzhou.

His eyes were icy cold, devoid of any emotion, but the blank stare from before was gone.

Shen Qingzhou, who had been on edge the whole time, suddenly changed his expression.

Without a second thought, he raised his hand and grabbed the green-haired turtle's soul back into his hand. Then, without hesitation, he forced the ghost into his mouth.

In the same instant, countless black runes emerged wildly from under his skin, like tattoos that came to life, instantly covering his entire body.

The whole process was incredibly fast; in the blink of an eye, Shen Qingzhou returned to her normal appearance.

In that instant, large beads of sweat poured out from his forehead, cheeks, and back, instantly soaking his clothes.

His face was ashen, and even his breathing was trembling with suppressed urges.

"It's over...it's over...how did I get targeted..."

He muttered to himself, his voice trembling, but his hands and feet dared not stop for a moment. He suddenly stood up and rushed towards the door.

Shen Qingzhou rushed to the desk and pulled open the bottom drawer.

Inside, there were countless blank yellow paper figures, stacked layer upon layer, numbering in the thousands. They were all plain yellow paper, without a single rune.

He reached out and grabbed a handful of ink, then picked up the worn-out brush from the table with his other hand, dipped it in ink, and began to rapidly draw runes on the yellow paper figure.

The scratching sound of the pen tip across the paper was rapid and piercing. His expression was extremely tense, his mind highly focused, and he was muttering to himself. His expression was somewhat frantic, as if he would be caught up by something at any moment.

What is the world like after death?

Only those who have died can know the answer to this question.

Shen Qingzhou didn't know, because he had never died.

Even though he had personally sent dozens of souls to that unknown place over the years, he still knew nothing about that world.

He was very curious about what kind of world it was.

Are there gods there who judge ghosts?

Will evil be judged? But what is good, and what is evil? What are the standards?

Is a person's fate really predetermined from birth?

What will his fate be?

……

These questions have been troubling Shen Qingzhou, so he has been exploring them all these years.

But that world is like an impregnable fortress, inaccessible to the living and impossible for the dead to return to.

A great mentor once said that a fortress is most easily breached from within.

Shen Qingzhou wholeheartedly agreed.

So over the years, every time he performed a ritual to help souls pass on, he would secretly slip in some "personal favors."

There had never been any mishaps before, but perhaps because this time they performed a ritual to deliver all five souls at once, they had too many "personal agendas" to hide, and finally the other side noticed.

What has his eye on him is neither the soul-reaping ghosts nor the ruling gods, but the will of that world itself.

If the Underworld is likened to a computer operating with unparalleled precision, then Shen Qingzhou's actions are akin to implanting a Trojan virus into the system.

Each time he sent away a ghost, he attached seemingly useless "redundant code" to those souls, hoping to use it to peek into the secrets of the underworld. However, he did not expect that this time he implanted too much at once, which eventually triggered the system's "anti-virus mechanism" and exposed himself to that invisible will.

Time flew by amidst the rustling sound of the pen tip tracing the paper. Before I knew it, the sky outside the window had darkened. In the dim light, a thick layer of paper figures covered with runes had been laid on my desk. The yellow paper and ink intertwined, giving it a somewhat eerie feel.

Suddenly, a rapid ringing of the telephone jolted Shen Qingzhou awake from her intense concentration.

He let out a long sigh, his tense shoulders and back slowly relaxing. He picked up his phone from the table and saw the name "Chang Shengli" flashing on the screen.

Without thinking twice, he swiped his finger to answer the call.

"Come downstairs, I'll wait for you across the street."

On the other end of the phone, Chang Shengli's voice was filled with anger, hard and devoid of any warmth.

Shen Qingzhou then remembered that he had already made an appointment yesterday to have dinner at Chang Shengli's house tonight, and Aunt Chen had specifically told him to go there early.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry to trouble you to drive here and pick me up yourself."

His tone was relaxed, completely devoid of the tension and frenzy he had shown while drawing the runes.

"Stop talking nonsense. If it weren't for your Aunt Chen's instructions, do you think I would have come here willingly? Get down here right now. You can't park on the side of the road for long..."

"Coming right away, coming right now..."

Shen Qingzhou smiled and agreed, then grabbed a handful of paper figures drawn on the table, stuffed them into his pocket, and hurried downstairs.

As soon as they left the residential area, they saw Chang Shengli's car parked across the street.

Shen Qingzhou glanced at the road conditions and, seeing that there weren't many vehicles on the road, walked straight across the street.

Just as he reached the middle of the road, a car suddenly appeared out of nowhere and crashed into him at an astonishing speed, giving him no chance to react at all.

"Bang!"

A dull yet violent impact rang out, and Shen Qingzhou was sent flying.

A sharp pain shot through his entire body, and Shen Qingzhou, flying through the air, had only one thought left.

"Damn it, this retribution... did it have to come so quickly?"

Then he transformed into a paper figure and floated down from the sky.

P.S.: Wishing everyone a Happy Lunar New Year's Eve, a joyful family reunion, and a happy new year!