Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

The old man calmly picked up the teacup and brewed the tea.

"Although ghosts are rare, I have been transporting corpses for over forty years, and every few years I can see one or two ghosts that have not yet dissipated. However, most of them are remnants of ghosts, unable to even speak. They are just phantoms like the wind. Those who do not know them may find them frightening, but in fact, if you walk past them, they will have to hide. Ghosts are nothing more than this kind of thing."

"Has your uncle ever seen a ghost whose mind is no different from that of an ordinary person?"

"Of course I've seen it," the old man said. "When you live a long time, you can see everything."

"It's like this, I have a friend whose daughter died young from illness," Zhuang Xing said. "Now her spirit still lives on, she is conscious and has something to cling to, which keeps her from dying for the time being, but she still wants to live like a normal person. I wonder if Uncle has any ideas?"

"If a ghost wants to live like a normal person, isn't that just wanting to be resurrected?" the old man said mercilessly. "Give up that idea. It's just wishful thinking. Let her rest and recuperate for a few years, see more of the scenery, and have fewer regrets before her soul dissipates. If she insists on causing trouble, she might develop evil thoughts and become a malevolent spirit."

"Let me be frank, it might be a better choice for you to have her released from suffering sooner rather than later."

As the old man spoke, Zhuang Xing felt the Yin-Yang Stone in his pocket vibrate.

Xiao An's mindset changed because of what the old man said. Zhuang Xing was a little worried that she might suddenly come out and, since his ideas were being rejected, Xiao An might fly into a rage or become distraught.

But in the end, Xiao An calmed down and did not break her promise not to appear in public.

Zhuang Xing breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to reveal that he had the Yin-Yang Stone. It was a treasure. Although Li Family Village treated him like a guest, people are innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime. When traveling, one should not flaunt one's wealth and should be more cautious.

"Is there really no way at all?" Zhuang Xing asked again on Xiao An's behalf.

"Since you are a disciple of an old friend, I will tell you some of the shameful things about the Li family." The old man took a sip of tea. "Although the spirits of the dead are not tolerated by heaven and earth, if they can find something to dwell in, they can survive in the world for a longer time."

"The easiest thing to find to entrust one's spirit to is not a ghost, but a blood relative of a ghost, preferably a weak infant. Infants have weak vital energy and cannot resist the invasion of yin energy. My ancestors in the Li family realized this principle long ago and had the idea of ​​having our ancestors entrust their spirits to an infant to be reincarnated."

"However, without exception, none of the infants survived a year, and all met their end by dying and their souls being destroyed."

"The Li family was torn apart by this incident back then, and almost wiped out. Even today, everyone in the family follows the ancestral teachings and keeps this matter in mind."

"Just to remind my family of one thing: birth, aging, sickness, and death are the will of Heaven, and cannot be defied."

Chapter 183 Rebirth for You

The will of Heaven cannot be defied.

The Li family allowed the spirits of their ancestors to invade the bodies of infants, believing that they could be reincarnated and live on in the world, bringing prosperity to the family. In the end, they almost met their demise.

In a few words, Li Ruyu recounted the less-than-glorious part of her family history.

Zhuang Xing felt a pang of sadness and let out a soft sigh.

After discussing the ghosts, he drank tea with Li Ruyu for a while and talked about Xuanqing Temple and the old Taoist priest.

Li Ruyu is a talkative elder. When he talks about his youth, he can talk endlessly. He really likes to share his "experiences as someone who has been there."

As a local of Pingzhou and an elder who had lived several decades longer than Zhuang Xing, Zhuang Xing was willing to listen to his words.

However, as Li Ruyu spoke, she liked to dabble in grand principles, and Zhuang Xing found it boring and even a little sleepy as he listened.

This sounds exactly like a leader giving a speech.

As a guest, Zhuang Xing couldn't easily make an excuse to refuse, so he ended up chatting with the old man until evening.

Yunling barely spoke, just sat there, occasionally refilling the old man's tea and water.

Zhuang Xing didn't say much. After he started by talking about the current state of Xuanqing Temple, he mostly ended his conversation with phrases like "And then?", "Oh, I see," and "Uncle is really knowledgeable."

Thanks to a "universal reply list" he had seen before, he really wouldn't have been able to talk for an entire afternoon without repeating himself.

The old man seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation. If it weren't getting dark, Zhuang Xing guessed he would have liked to say a few more words.

When he left, the old man addressed Zhuang Xing as "my old friend's disciple" instead of "my nephew".

It seemed like it had been a long time since Li Ruyu had chatted so freely with anyone.

In Lijia Village, Li Ruyu's status was clearly very high. In Pingzhou, where family values ​​were very strong, the younger generation always treated him with great respect. The older generation probably didn't have the time to listen to his boasting. Zhuang Xing's arrival allowed him to vent his long-suppressed desire to speak his mind.

Before parting, Li Ruyu patted Zhuang Xing on the shoulder.

“My dear nephew has traveled a long way to Pingzhou; he must have gained something.”

"The art of corpse driving is the foundation of our clan and cannot be passed on to outsiders."

“Since you have come here for the sake of ghosts, I will have Li Ting give you some books on ghosts to look up.”

"Among these ancient texts, besides recording events from that time, there are also some techniques researched by our ancestors."

"Nephew, take a look at whichever interests you, but remember, don't spread it outside."

"Then thank you for your kindness, Uncle," Zhuang Xing said, cupping his hands in thanks, without refusing.

Unexpectedly, there was an additional benefit: I was able to learn a few skills.

However, after spending the whole afternoon chatting with him, he felt that he deserved it and that it wasn't like getting something for nothing.

"Hahaha." Li Ruyu laughed a few times and escorted Zhuang Xing and Yunling to the outside of the ancestral hall.

As Zhuang Xing stepped out the door, he saw Li Ting still waiting for them there.

Upon hearing Li Ruyu's instructions, Li Ting respectfully escorted the two back.

Zhuang Xing and Yunling slept in the Li family's courtyard. When they came to see Li Ruyu in the afternoon, their bedroom had already been cleaned up, with clean and tidy beds.

For dinner, they tried the Li family's specialty dishes.

The chicken soup, made with various mushrooms, was incredibly delicious. It also included pickled bamboo shoots. The chicken was a wild mountain chicken, and its meat had an indescribable aroma. It was a rare treat, and Zhuang Xing ate until he was completely full.

It makes you feel that eating this meal and walking so much was all worthwhile.

Not long after the meal, Li Ting had already retrieved the books and delivered them to Zhuang Xing.

It was said that during the time the two of them stayed in Lijia Village, they could freely browse through the book, but they could not copy it, and after leaving, they should not spread it outside.

Of course, this was just a verbal statement. The Li family did not supervise him while he was reading. Whether or not he followed the rules depended entirely on Zhuang Xing's self-discipline.

Zhuang Xing was too lazy to copy it; he memorized it all after reading it once and could recite it from memory at any time.

Two thick, thread-bound books came into his hands. The pages were yellowed, and the covers were made of some kind of animal hide with an indescribable texture. The two books had no titles, and one of them was as thick as an English-Chinese dictionary.

There were two books, so he invited Yunling to his room to choose one. He asked her which one she wanted to read first. Zhuang Xing's idea was for them to each take one home first and then switch between them later.

While Yunling was choosing books, Xiao An couldn't hold back any longer and crawled out of the Yin-Yang Stone.

After hearing what Li Ruyu said during the day, I don't know what she was thinking, but she certainly wasn't in a good mood.

After all, his wishes were completely rejected.

At that moment, she almost couldn't hold back and ran out to confront Li Ruyu.

After she came out, she circled around Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling, looking a little aggrieved.

"Brother and sister, are you going to help me pass on to the afterlife?" She asked with a mournful face, looking like she was about to cry. "Brother, please go back and tell Father that Xiao An is a good ghost, and that Xiao An can be Father's daughter again in the next life."

"Are you crazy? Why would we want to perform a ritual to help you pass on to the afterlife?" Zhuang Xing was amused by her.

Yunling also said, "Yes, we didn't do this for any reason."

"But...but that old man, didn't he ask you to perform a ritual to help me pass on to the afterlife?" Xiao An said, feeling wronged. "I heard my brother chatting happily with him..."

“You’ve never harmed anyone, never done anything wrong, so why would we perform a ritual to help you pass on?” Zhuang Xing comforted her. “It’s not like you wanted to become a ghost. Becoming a ghost isn’t your fault. Besides, we’ve known each other for so long. Even if you didn’t want to live anymore, we would still try to persuade you.”

"Really?" Xiao An asked in a low voice, shrinking to the side.

She floated down, her lower body a blur, her feet invisible. She was tiny, only four or five years old, and looked up at the two of them like a small animal. She was just a cute little ghost.

"Of course it's true," Zhuang Xing and Yunling both said.

She hesitated for a moment, then tentatively floated forward a little. Seeing Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling, who were just smiling at her, she suddenly flew over.

Zhuang Xing felt a chill on his body. Xiao An hugged him and then hugged Yun Ling next to him.

"Brothers and sisters, please don't perform rituals for Xiao An, waaaaah~"

If you were to say "May you be delivered from the dead" here, it would probably scare her so much that she would run away and fly off into the distance.

It looks like it'll be a lot of fun.

Zhuang Xing suppressed his mischievous thoughts. Xiao An was still a child; it was better not to make fun of a child.

Okay, let's skip it today and talk about it later.

In short, after his encouragement, Xiao An was much happier.

Xiao An didn't seem to change her mind because of Li Ruyu's words.

She was just afraid of being exorcised by Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling. Naive as she was, she might not have fully understood how heavy the old man's words were, but even if she was rejected, her original intention to keep going never changed.

Chapter 184 The Art of Night Wandering

After selecting the books, Yunling returned to her room.

Zhuang Xing's house and Yun Ling's house were next to each other, separated only by a wall.

At night, everyone in the courtyard was asleep, so the two of them could only read quietly and agreed to talk to each other again the next day.

Xiao An lay on the bed, feeling a little bored. Zhuang Xing told her that walls have ears and there were people everywhere outside, including corpse drivers.

Zhuang Xing said that corpse drivers are all capable of catching ghosts, so you must not go outside. If you get caught, you might have to be exorcised.

Xiao An was terrified and huddled next to Zhuang Xing, saying with tears welling up in her eyes, "Being exorcised is so scary, I don't want to be exorcised."

Zhuang Xing coaxed, "If you stay in the house quietly and don't go out or make any noise, they won't know you're here."

After hearing what he said, Xiao An became very well-behaved.

Zhuang Xing then confidently turned the lamp to work late into the night, studying the classic text.

He wasn't saying this to joke around; he was genuinely afraid that Xiao An would be discovered by the Li family.

From Li Ruyu's words, we can learn that the Li family once transferred the spirits of their ancestors into the bodies of young children.

This shows that the Li family has a good understanding of spirits; at least they can preserve a person's spirit as completely as possible after death. Otherwise, they would have no way to start from the very first step.

If even the soul cannot remain, how can one talk about reincarnation?

The Li family probably really can catch ghosts, and if Xiao An is discovered, it will be a troublesome matter.

If Xiao An doesn't make a fuss, he can quietly read his book.

This book is filled with numerous details; it's not just a classic text about ghosts, but also a family history of the Li family.

It contains many names, such as which family member was sent out in which year to find a treasure that could nourish the spirits of the dead, which family member was arguing about a child in which month, and which family member became pregnant and was raising a "flesh fetus" for reincarnation. It covers everything, big and small.