People worship their ancestors: I'm just burning some paper money, how did I become a Taoist ma

"There is a way! But I'm not sure if it will work, I can only say let's give it a try!" Li Mu said slowly.

These words immediately made Xu Qing feel as if she had grasped a lifeline!

"Li Mu, please help me no matter what. I don't want my father to suffer all his life and then wander aimlessly after his death!" Xu Qing said immediately.

"But we can't do much under these conditions, there are too many things we need!" Li Mu said helplessly.

As the saying goes, even a clever cook can't cook without rice; if you don't have the right tools, all your talk is useless!

Xu Qing quickly wiped away her tears and asked anxiously, "What do you need to prepare? I'll go buy it right now!"

Li Mu didn't rush to answer. Instead, he squatted down, took out paper and pen from the bag, and began to write things down one by one.

"A soul-guiding banner should be made of white cloth and be three feet and three inches long."

"Seven soul-guiding lamps must be made of oil, not candles."

"One pound each of the five grains and miscellaneous cereals."

"One peach wood sword; if you don't have one, a peach tree branch will suffice."

"Yellow talisman paper, cinnabar, realgar, white rice..."

Li Mu wrote a long string of words and handed it to Xu Qing.

"These things aren't necessarily available in the village. You have to go to town to buy them."

Xu Qing took the list, glanced at it, and without saying a word, picked up her phone and started making calls.

"Hey, Uncle Zhang, could you buy me some things from town? Yes, it's urgent. I'll send them to you, and you can bring them directly to my dad's grave in the village once you've bought them... Any price is fine, the sooner the better! Make sure you have everything."

After hanging up the phone, Xu Qing turned to Li Mu and said, "I asked a relative to buy it from town and send it over. It should arrive in about an hour."

Li Mu nodded and looked at the sky.

It's already past 2 PM. After the things are delivered and we do some more preparations, it will be almost dark.

"The soul-summoning ceremony can only begin after dark. During the day, the yang energy is too strong, and the souls of the dead dare not come out."

Xu Qing and Jiang Yiling exchanged a glance but neither asked any further questions.

……

Two hours later, a battle-damaged van drove into the village and drove right up to Xu Qing's old house.

A man in his thirties got out of the car and carried out several bags and packages.

Upon seeing this, Li Mu, Xu Qing, and Jiang Yiling also stepped forward to meet them!

"Xu Qing, I've bought everything you wanted." The man handed the items to Xu Qing, then looked curiously at Li Mu and Jiang Yiling. "What are you two going to do?"

"It's nothing, thank you for your hard work." Xu Qing took the things without explaining further.

The man didn't ask any more questions and drove away.

Li Mu inspected the items he had bought.

The soul-guiding banner was made of white cloth and was about the right size. There were seven oil lamps, with wicks and oil all ready. One pound each of the five grains was placed in a small cloth bag.

There was no peach wood sword, but there were a few peach tree branches, freshly cut, clearly just chopped; they were the right thickness and could be used as swords.

Yellow talisman paper, cinnabar, realgar, and white rice are all available.

"Everything's ready." Li Mu nodded. "Let's rest for a bit and wait until it gets dark."

……

The sky gradually darkened.

Lights began to come on in the village houses, and the distant barking of dogs echoed through the air.

Li Mu, along with Xu Qing and Jiang Yiling, carrying their belongings, went up the mountain again.

This time, he didn't go directly to Xu Baoguo's grave, but instead found a relatively flat and open spot on the hillside.

"Let's set up the altar here." Li Mu looked around and chose the location.

He spread a white cloth on the ground to serve as an altar. Then he arranged seven soul-guiding lamps in the shape of the Big Dipper on the white cloth and lit them one by one.

Seven small flames flickered in the twilight, illuminating a small area around them.

Li Mu then took out five kinds of grains and put them into seven bowls, placing them next to the soul-guiding lamp.

Next, he placed the soul-guiding banner in the center of the altar, the white cloth banner fluttering gently in the evening breeze.

Finally, he held the peach wood branch in his hand, tested its feel, and then took out yellow talisman paper and cinnabar to begin drawing talismans.

This time he drew very slowly, and each talisman was drawn with utmost care.

"Supreme Soul Summoning Talisman", "Guiding Talisman", "Path Opening Talisman", "Protective Talisman"... a total of seven talismans were drawn, each one different.

Xu Qing and Jiang Yiling stood aside, watching Li Mu skillfully draw talismans and set up the altar, not daring to breathe loudly.

"Xu Qing, come here." Li Mu finished drawing the talisman and beckoned to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing quickly came over.

"Tell me your father's birth date, time of death, and date of death again, the more detailed the better."

Xu Qing tried her best to recall and said all the information she could remember.

Li Mu wrote this information on a piece of yellow paper, folded it into the shape of a small person, and placed it under the soul-guiding banner in the center of the altar.

"Next, I will perform a ritual to find your father's spirit." Li Mu looked at Xu Qing and Jiang Yiling with a serious expression. "You two stand outside the altar, don't make a sound, and don't go near. No matter what you see, don't be afraid, and don't move around."

Xu Qing and Jiang Yiling nodded quickly and stepped back a few meters away.

Li Mu took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and stood still in front of the altar.

To be honest, he didn't know if these methods would work.

When I was a Taoist priest in my previous life, most of these things were just formalities, essentially just for show. Summoning souls, guiding spirits, and performing rituals for the deceased were all just going through the motions; I never saw anything real.

But this world is different.

This world has the underworld, the dead, dreams, and the spirits of ancestors.

Since these things are real, the Taoist techniques he learned in his previous life might come in handy.

Li Mu opened his eyes, picked up the peach wood branch, and began to perform the ritual steps in front of the altar.

This is a basic skill in Taoist rituals called "Stepping on the Big Dipper," which imitates the movement of the Big Dipper. Each step has its own specific rules.

Step forward with your left foot, placing it on the southeast corner of the altar, then follow with your right foot, placing it on the due east corner...

Li Mu performed the ritual steps while chanting incantations.

"The Big Dipper, summoning souls and guiding spirits. I, by the order of the Supreme Lord, hasten as the law commands..."

After reciting it three times, Li Mu picked up a "Supreme Soul-Summoning Talisman" from the altar, lit it on the soul-guiding lamp, and tossed it into the air.

The burning talisman flew into the air, leaving a trail of fire in the night sky, before slowly falling back down.

Li Mu stared intently at the flame, his eyes unblinking.

As the talisman landed, a sudden gust of wind arose.

It wasn't an ordinary wind.

The gust of wind came out of nowhere, and the surrounding tree branches swayed, but the flames of the seven soul-guiding lamps on the altar remained motionless.

Li Mu's heart tightened.

There's a chance.

"Xu Baoguo—" Li Mu raised his voice and shouted towards the night sky, "Xu Qing, a descendant of Yang Shang, hereby summons your soul back! If you are aware of this, show yourself at once!"

The sound echoed across the open hillside, carrying far and wide.

A few seconds passed, and nothing happened.

Li Mu frowned, picked up another talisman, lit it on the soul-guiding lamp, and tossed it into the air.

This time, he recited the "guiding spell".

"Wandering souls, where do they linger? Strange tales and awe-inspiring sights abound in the desolate mountains and forests. Lost souls, unaware of their way home. I am here to guide them on their journey. By the decree of the Supreme Lord, return swiftly—"

After the incantation was finished, the talisman burst into flames in the air and instantly burned to ashes.

Then, Li Mu sensed something was amiss.

The temperature around the altar seemed to have suddenly dropped by several degrees.

Jiang Yiling stood at a distance, unable to help but shiver, and subconsciously hugged her arms tightly.

Xu Qing also sensed it, but she didn't move. She just stared intently at the fluttering soul-guiding banner in the center of the altar.

Li Mu closed his eyes and focused his mind on sensing.

His master in his previous life had taught him that when summoning a soul, he should "see" with his heart, not with his eyes.

At first, I couldn't feel anything.

But gradually, some blurry images appeared in Li Mu's mind.

It was a hazy, gray place, like a foggy day, where you couldn't see anything clearly.

A figure wandered in the mist, stopping and starting, as if searching for something.

Li Mu tried hard to see the figure clearly, but the fog was too thick, and he could only see an outline.

"Xu Baoguo?" Li Mu murmured to himself.

The figure seemed to have heard something, stopped, turned around, and looked around.

But he couldn't see or hear Li Mu's voice; he just looked around blankly.

Li Mu was shocked.

found it.