Returning to the house, I found Sun Chuang had woken up. However, his gaze was vacant, his complexion ashen, making him look as though he had suffered a severe illness.
"Brother Zhang, he's not just gone傻 (shǎ - foolish/idiotic) like this, is he?" I asked, looking at Sun Chuang with some concern.
Zhang Dabiao shook his head. "Don't ask me about this. If it's about getting rid of ghosts or catching evil spirits, I can manage. But when it comes to this, I'm all thumbs. I'm completely clueless."
I waved my right hand in front of Sun Chuang's eyes. Seeing that his gaze still followed my hand, I felt a sense of relief. Fortunately, that fox hadn't harmed his soul, otherwise, the trouble would have been immense.
The thought of the fox that had appeared earlier made me frown.
Based on my judgment, that fox was undoubtedly a *chūmǎ xiān* (出马仙 - a type of shamanistic spirit medium). However, it lacked the spiritual aura that a *chūmǎ xiān* should possess. It was like a puppet, as if controlled by someone else.
"Brother Zhang, did you notice anything odd about the fox that controlled Sun Chuang just now?"
"Odd? What's odd about it? I didn't see anything peculiar," Zhang Dabiao replied, looking at me with confusion.
"Don't you think it seemed a bit like it had lost its soul?"
My words made Zhang Dabiao burst into laughter.
"Younger brother, have you been driven mad by Sun Chuang's lost soul? Although I practice the Xuanyang martial arts path, I do have some understanding of matters concerning souls. In the Three Realms and Six Paths, only humans are born with three souls and seven *pò* (魄 - corporeal souls/spirits). Animals are born with only two souls. They can only achieve a complete set of *pò* like humans through continuous cultivation. As for the missing life soul, even after cultivating for a thousand years, it might not be cultivated. I've only heard of those who can cultivate a life soul in legends. If it could cultivate a life soul, do you think anyone could control it?"
What Zhang Dabiao said, I naturally knew. The techniques I studied dealt with yin entities and spirits, so I was very clear about matters of the soul.
However, it was precisely because of this that I felt the fox that had appeared was problematic.
"Brother Zhang, have you ever seen a true *chūmǎ xiān*?"
"This... I haven't really seen one. Only *chūmǎ* disciples can see them."
I pondered for a moment. "Do you think it's possible that the fox that came tonight was controlled by someone else, giving us a warning?"
I had thought this through carefully.
Although Sun Chuang was an ordinary person, he was involved in the feng shui trade and had some influence behind him. The fact that someone could steal one of his *pò* meant he must have offended someone skilled in feng shui.
After my analysis, I arrived at the following two points. Su Dan Novel Network.
Firstly, Sun Chuang might have accidentally stumbled upon some information, and the feng shui master wanted to silence him, thus seizing one of his *pò* as leverage.
Secondly, perhaps that person wanted to deal with me, but I quickly dismissed this idea.
I am merely an *yīnguà shī* (阴卦师 - a practitioner of yin divination) who has just emerged from seclusion. Even if I have mastered my master's *yīnguà* skills completely, it is still in the theoretical stage, and there is still a distance to true and complete integration.
Therefore, the first scenario is highly probable. I just don't know what Sun Chuang saw, and the other party had reservations, so they had to seize one of Sun Chuang's *pò* to threaten him.
And it is very likely that person is Fang Huixin, otherwise Sun Chuang wouldn't have fainted directly upon hearing her name.
After my analysis, Zhang Dabiao couldn't help but frown, his face showing a thoughtful expression.
After hearing my analysis, Zhang Dabiao thought for a moment. "That woman, Fang Huixin, is not much of a problem, but the people behind her are a bit troublesome. However, it shouldn't be enough to deal with Sun Chuang. As the saying goes, 'There is righteousness in business, even if it fails.' If everyone acted as you say, who would dare to do business with Fang Huixin? Moreover, the failure of her daughter's ghost marriage was entirely an accident. Even if they wanted to hold someone accountable, at most they would just return the money. It wouldn't be worth tormenting Sun Chuang like this."
Hearing this, I felt a bit awkward. "Uh, Brother Zhang, I forgot to mention. Sui Wan'er's corpse went missing on the night of the ghost marriage, along with Fang Huixin's daughter's corpse. Furthermore, Fang Huixin is convinced that I am involved in this matter and is forcing me to find her daughter's corpse."
Zhang Dabiao was clearly taken aback. "When did this happen?"
"It was the day before I rescued you."
Then I recounted what had happened at Fang Huixin's residence.
"This matter has become a bit difficult," Zhang Dabiao lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said, "Did you agree to her terms?"
"I had no choice but to agree! If I hadn't agreed then, she would have killed me right there."
Speaking of this, I felt quite frustrated. I had only examined a mummy and performed a ghost marriage, and it had caused so much trouble.
"Now there are only two options," Zhang Dabiao crushed the cigarette butt in his hand, his eyes fixed on me.
"What options?"
"One is that we leave tonight. Returning to the north would make them reconsider if they wanted to cause you trouble."
Upon hearing this, I repeatedly shook my head. "That's absolutely out of the question. If my master finds out that Sun Chuang is in trouble and I abandon him, he'll skin me alive when I get back. That's definitely not an option."
What a joke. Sun Chuang, in a way, was a distant "cousin" of my stingy master. If I brought Sun Chuang back like this, wouldn't I be beaten to death by him?
"I thought you would have chosen the first option directly," Zhang Dabiao's expression flickered, and he nodded before continuing, "The second option is to find Sun Chuang's *pò* first, and then find a way to negotiate with Fang Huixin."
"But where should we look for Sun Chuang's *pò*? He's like this now, and he won't recover in a short time. Without knowing the location where his *pò* was lost, where can we find his lost *pò*?"
Losing a soul isn't the biggest problem. As long as you write down his birth date and time, and take a piece of clothing worn by the person who lost their soul, and shout around, if his soul hears it, it will naturally attach itself to the birth date and time. Then you can take the birth date and time back and sleep with it under your pillow.
But losing a *pò* is more troublesome because *pò* has no sentience, like an inanimate object. Even if the host is standing in front of it, it won't actively enter the body. It must be driven into the body by special methods.
"You shouldn't be asking me this question! I certainly can't do it. Aren't you an *yīnguà shī*? Can't you judge matters based on physiognomy and birth dates? As long as you..."
Before Zhang Dabiao could finish speaking, I interrupted him.
I shook my head like a rolling drum.
"No, that's absolutely not possible. There are rules in our profession. We can only examine physiognomy and tell fortunes for yin entities and the dead, never for the living. If I break the rules, our ancestors will surely take me away."
Zhang Dabiao shrugged, his expression unchanged.
"Then there's no other way. We can only watch him like this. If you ask me, we should leave tonight. Anyway, he's not dead, he just lost a *pò*. At most, he'll look like he has depression. Besides, so many people have depression nowadays, not everyone jumps off a building, right?"
I was speechless. Was this the Zhang Dabiao I knew?
How could his attitude change so quickly?
Zhang Dabiao, however, seemed indifferent, leaving the decision entirely to me.
Examining Sui Wan'er's corpse had already broken the rules, and I was almost killed by her. Performing the ghost marriage had also broken the rules and was fraught with danger. If I broke the rules a third time, I didn't know what the consequences would be.
My mind was in turmoil for a long time. After weighing the pros and cons, I finally made a decision.