Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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The vengeful spirits, initially confused and focused on revenge, suddenly regained their senses when one of the female ghosts asked, “Master, how are my parents?”
Cheng Xin pulled out some information, and Xie Lingya learned that this female ghost had only been nineteen years old in life, the age of university going students, and was an only child. He thus replied, “After you disappeared, your parents searched for you for a long time. A few years ago, they adopted an orphan who is now five years old. After finding your remains, they finally built a grave for you— although your remains cannot be returned to them yet— they even brought your younger sister to pay her respects.”
Tears welled up in the female ghost’s eyes. Knowing that her parents hadn’t forgotten her and hadn’t ruined their lives with grief, she felt a sense of relief. During their imprisonment, they had lost track of time and were unable to think clearly. Even after escaping, they remained in a daze until now, when they finally came to their senses.
Xie Lingya spoke to each of the vengeful spirits, helping them resolve their final attachments— most of them hadn’t seen their families one last time before being abducted years ago, or had regrets.
Seeing this, Guo Xing felt his heart clench, a mix of sorrow, emotion, and an inexplicable surge of feeling.
Xie Lingya burned paper money, pointed his scepter, and the underworld officials led the wronged souls away, gathering the ashes. As the ashes drifted down, Xie Lingya let out a long sigh of relief, showing no signs of fatigue.
Of course, this didn’t stop Guo Xing from imagining things. He then said excitedly, “No wonder they say that performing rituals to liberate the souls of the dead is a meritorious act. Teacher Xie, you…”
Not only liberate them, but you also rescue them!
Although Guo Xing had heard Xie Lingya mention it before, witnessing it firsthand was far more shocking. Although many people today might not know about these things, nor witness the true liberation of the wronged souls, someone still had to do it.
Guo Xing felt a surge of impulse. “Teacher Xie, I’m willing to inherit the Lushan Dharma and maintain peace between the Yin and Yang realms!”
Xie Lingya: “…”
Xie Lingya said, “Why are you so driven by a sense of mission? Wouldn’t it be better to observe a few more times?”
It wasn’t that Guo Xing was easily moved; Xie Lingya had also been quite moved when he first participated in a ritual for the deceased. Of course, his event was much larger, with far more spirits at the Ghost Festival ritual than this small-scale event could handle.
Guo Xing immediately said, “I don’t think it’s necessary. I want to take on the responsibility as soon as possible!”
Everyone was a little embarrassed, especially Xiao Dian, who was deeply moved. Although everyone’s starting point was different, he had also wanted to learn Taoist magic immediately.
Xiao Dian said to Guo Xing, “You should observe more.”
He needed to observe more to think things through; this was just a ritual. It was getting late after the Dharma assembly ended, and Guo Xing kept asking where the wronged spirits might be. Then Xie Lingya finally said, “You should go back to Baoyang Temple tonight to rest. Those wronged spirits are either enjoying some food or going straight to prison for their day’s revenge.”
“Oh,” Guo Xing couldn’t contain his excitement. “What about the ghost we encountered in the elevator last time? Did you perform a ritual to help him pass on?”
“He didn’t need a ritual. He died a natural death, just took the wrong path. I sent him on his way to the underworld,” Xie Lingya explained.
They told Cheng Xin not to see them off and walked slowly, looking for a taxi.
There weren’t many pedestrians on the road at this hour, and the vehicles passing by were either private cars or trucks. For some reason, they didn’t see a single taxi, and the ride-hailing app didn’t show any nearby cars.
Gradually, even the private cars decreased, and the streetlights on both sides of the road dimmed.
Xie Lingya touched the Liu Lingtong on his shoulder and stopped.
Xiao Dian and Guo Xing, puzzled, turned to look at Xie Lingya.
Just then, a clanging, rattling sound of metal being dragged rang out.
Both young men’s expressions changed, especially Guo Xing, who nervously looked around. His constitution allowed him to sense something was wrong, but he couldn’t see the problem or figure out how to solve it; the unknown was even more frightening.
Fortunately, they were out performing a ritual today. Xie Lingya drew the three treasured swords from his back and shielded Xiao Dian and Guo Xing behind him.
The sound grew closer. Then a hunched shadow appeared, along with a thick, pungent smell of blood.
As the shadow became clearer, everyone could see its appearance— it was impossible to describe it as “he” or “she.” Its head was much smaller than its body, with a pointed snout and protruding cheeks, like a rat. Its belly was swollen, and it was covered by chains. On its tiny head was a skull, which looked like an oversized hat.
The thick smell of blood almost made Guo Xing vomit, and its terrifying and bizarre appearance was also hard for him to accept. This thing looked even more horrifying than the vengeful spirit from before!
Guo Xing asked, his face pale, “What…what is this?”
Xie Lingya didn’t speak, and Xiao Dian also frowned and said, “I don’t know either.”
He felt a little ashamed that he hadn’t recognized the thing.
But the next moment, Xie Lingya said, “Damn, I don’t recognize it either. What is this thing? Is it a rat spirit that’s been in a car accident?”
What bothered him even more was that as soon as Guailong saw this thing, it scurried from his wrist to his arm and hid. He was worried that this guy was very powerful.
The strange creature, resembling a rat, made a “squeak” sound, sounding both like a rat and like it was deflated, its eyes darting around Xie Lingya.
Xie Lingya was trying hard to recall if he had seen any information about similar creatures when it charged at him, pulling on its chains. Despite being bound by chains, it was quite fast. With a stretch of its arms, it jumped up, trying to encircle Xie Lingya.
“Ugh.” Xie Lingya was quick; in a flash, the rat spirit landed on Guo Xing, hugging him with all fours, the chains now slung over him.
Xiao Dian had also improved, hiding to the side and escaping being grabbed. Only Guo Xing was completely bewildered. Suddenly, a sharp beak loomed close to his face, the pungent, fishy smell assaulting his senses and nearly knocking him over. The sticky feeling on his body made him want to die on the spot. Guo Xing struggled desperately, but the rat demon clung tightly to him, its belly pressing against him. He felt as if the rat demon’s belly was a water-filled balloon, swaying against his body, its contents unknown.
“Damn it! Let me go!” Guo Xing screamed hoarsely, his face almost touching the demon’s.
At this moment, Xie Lingya seized the opportunity, grabbing the rat demon’s chain and wrapping it around its neck, pulling it tight from behind. The rat demon’s head was pulled back, but its body still clung tightly to Guo Xing, its belly swaying from side to side.
Seeing this, Xie Lingya plunged his sword into its belly, creating an incision.
Instantly, a gushing stream of blood gushed out!
*Swoosh*
—Guo Xing was splattered with sticky blood. He rubbed his eyes hard but felt something on his hand. He forced his eyes open and saw it was intestines!
Guo Xing collapsed to the ground: “Vomit!!!”
Xie Lingya ignored him, tearing the disemboweled rat demon from his body. Pressing its head down, he drew a talisman on the skull above its head, “Evil spirit, return to righteousness!”
The skull fell to the ground with a thud, and the rat demon went limp, its heart, lungs, and other internal organs still flowing out of its belly. This rat demon didn’t seem as dangerous as Xie Lingya had feared.
Xie Lingya released his hand and looked more closely. The rat demon was no longer the same as before; its entire form was stiff, and it didn’t look alive.
Xie Lingya reached out and pinched it. “Clay?”
That’s right, it should be dough. This was a clay figurine. The body was sculpted like a human, the head like a rat, and the facial features and clothes were painted on.
As for those internal organs…
Xie Lingya took a closer look, “These don’t seem to be human internal organs either—”
Guo Xing still had a string of intestines hanging from his hand, and he was sitting there blankly, his face covered in blood.
Xiao Dian walked over sympathetically, squatted down, took a tissue and wiped it for him, cleaning the area around his eyes, “See, I told you to take a closer look…”
This line of work isn’t just about performing rituals on the altar.
Guo Xing who was quite upset: “…………”
Xie Lingya had already started a video call with Shi Changxuan. After answering, he briefly told him what had just happened, then pointed the camera at the thing on the ground, “Senior brother, do you know what this is?”
Shi Changxuan recognized it, but he had a slight doubt, “…Judging from its appearance and craftsmanship, this is a Lingga. It’s a humanoid ghost puppet, containing many ghosts. But it’s usually used as a vessel for Tantric monks to kill in rituals. Its body is filled with cow blood and other animal organs. The chains on its body are also to lock up the ghosts, and they should be contained in a special container to suppress them, making it difficult for them to escape.”
To put it simply, it’s a bit like the “little man” in the “slapping the sole of a shoe” ritual. It’s a representative of evil, made for rituals, so that the gods bring ghosts onto it, and then kill them.
Undoubtedly, it was man-made, but its purpose wasn’t to harm people, so how did this thing escape from the ritual?
More importantly, this was Zhuyang, a hundred and eight thousand miles away from the territory of Tantric Buddhism. Who would conduct Tantric rituals here? Xie Lingya also felt he hadn’t offended anyone from Tantric Buddhism; his only connection within Buddhism was with Lian Tan of the Pure Land School.
As Xie Lingya pondered this, another question came to mind. He pulled the snake off his arm, held it upside down, and asked, “This rat isn’t that powerful, so why were you hiding just now? All you can do is spit saliva, and you’re still a coward??”
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