Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

"I persuaded the farmer to leave and spoke alone with the girl. I learned that she often saw her brother in her dreams. Her brother said that he had taken care of his sister for twelve years. He would give her any food or clothes he had, whether fat or thin, new or not. Twelve years was the ultimate expression of his affection. Now that his brother is dead, he has no one to rely on and will disappear from the world. If the sister has feelings for him, she can borrow his brother for one night. If the sister does not wish to, he will leave. He hopes that the sister will not forget his death anniversary and will burn more paper money."

“My sister said, ‘Taoist priest, please don’t drive your brother away.’ My brother said, ‘In a few more days, when I see that my parents at home are safe and sound, I will be able to return home.’”

"However, when I took the woman's pulse, I found that her five orifices were blocked, and a sinister energy was invading her internal organs and the Niwan point. Her vital energy was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind, barely audible."

“I told you, girl, that your brother’s words are not true. If you keep his spirit, he may take your place in half a month.”

The woman was startled and knelt down, begging me to save her.

“However, if the evil spirit penetrates deep into her body, and she tries to force it with true qi, she may die from broken meridians.”

"Then the woman entered a dream and talked with her brother. At noon, the woman woke up, and a wisp of evil energy dissipated, taking the form of a ghost."

The ghost said, "The woman said in my dream, 'If you love your sister, then do not entangle yourself with her.'"

"The ghost realized its mistake and appeared in my body. I bowed and thanked it, and then returned to the sun."

"I thought the matter was over and left, but several months later, I returned from my travels and learned that the farmer had died."

"The woman said that after the Taoist priest left, at night, a wisp of evil spirit lingered and attacked again. The father tried to drive it away with a fire stick to save his daughter, but unfortunately he fell and hit his head, dying."

"I was furious. I drew my sword and pointed it at the woman, cursing, 'Do you treat me like a three-year-old child?'"

"The woman covered her face and wept bitterly. Those around her comforted her, but I used my true qi to force the yin spirit within her body to appear."

"I say, this ghost is ruthless and vicious. He murdered his father and sister, and then took his sister's body to be reborn into the world. He cannot be allowed to live!"

"With a single sword strike, I cleaved the ghost in two until its soul was scattered. The woman fell to the ground, lifeless and dead."

“I feel that the spirits of ghosts are weak and can only survive in the world by possessing the bodies of their blood relatives. Even if a living person is good, once they become a ghost, evil energy enters their body and their temperament changes drastically, and they cannot be regarded as the same person.”

"If I had realized this earlier, both the farmers and the women could have survived."

"Afterwards, if I see any ghosts or spirits, I will no longer trust them and will kill them all with a single sword stroke."

This is the twenty-seventh section of the Compendium of Demons, a story about ghosts and spirits.

Zhuang Xing was deeply impressed by the incident of the White Lotus Hermit encountering a ghost, so whenever Yunling showed any unusual signs, he immediately realized that these were symptoms of being possessed by a ghost.

Yin ghosts are not powerful demons. The great principles of this world do not allow the existence of souls after death. If everyone became a ghost after death, the world would have been overwhelmed by endless yin ghosts long ago.

The conditions for the formation of Yin ghosts are extremely demanding. No matter how powerful a Yin ghost is, it will quickly dissolve when it encounters sunlight, just like a mouse encountering a cat.

Even if you see a ghost at night, as long as you don't scare yourself, you usually won't be harmed by it.

There is only one exception: the ghosts that form after the death of a blood relative.

If a living person has feelings of attachment to a deceased blood relative, then a ghost can take the opportunity to enter.

Yunling's practice of the warming-up technique has yielded some results; her internal energy is circulating, making it impossible for ordinary ghosts to get close to her...

Has someone in her family died recently?

Are they younger siblings? Or older siblings?

Or is it an elder?

Zhuang Xing hadn't heard of any funerals recently. The village wasn't big, and if someone died, the village would hold a funeral, a feast for one or two days. If someone in Yunling's family had died, he couldn't possibly not know.

Zhuang Xing became increasingly puzzled, but no matter what, Yunling was indeed haunted by a ghost, and the yin energy had already invaded her body, blocking her orifices, causing her to have a high fever, sweat profusely, and lose consciousness.

She was perfectly fine when we parted yesterday afternoon, but overnight she turned into this. There are many strange things about this.

Zhuang Xing tried to use his true qi to force out the yin energy in Yunling's body, but his cultivation was not high enough to force out the yin ghost directly like the layman.

However, it also brought Yunling back to her senses. She opened her eyes, her gaze hazy, and coughed twice.

"Zhuang Xing...?"

“It’s me.” Zhuang Xing grasped her hand. “I’m here. This isn’t a dream, nor is it an illusion.”

Yunling was stunned for a moment, then said after realizing what had happened, "Oh, I see... I fainted..."

"I'm sorry... I didn't come... I made you worry..."

"Would you like some water? I'll go get you a bowl." Zhuang Xing asked.

Yunling tightened her grip on Zhuang Xing slightly: "Don't go... sit with me for a while, okay?"

"This isn't a common cold; you're being haunted by a ghost." Zhuang Xing wiped Yunling's sweat with his sleeve. "Has anyone in your family died in the last few months? Have any of your close friends died in accidents?"

“This isn’t my home. I live at my second uncle’s house. No one has died at my second uncle’s house in recent months…” Yunling said.

"Did anything strange happen to you last night?" Zhuang Xing asked, holding her hand.

Yunling looked at Zhuang Xing's face, pursed her lips, remained silent for a while, glanced at the hair tie in her hair, hesitated, but finally spoke: "Last night... I saw Father..."

"Is your father... dead?" Zhuang Xing asked in a low voice.

Yunling forced herself to sit up: "Zhuang Xing, do you know about the tiger demon?"

"I've heard it from the villagers."

“My father was eaten by that tiger demon.” Yunling shuddered.

She recalled that cold night when her father told her to hide in the cellar and not to come out, promising that he would definitely come back for her.

"Your father will definitely come back for you."

"You must hide well. Unless your father calls you, no matter what sound you hear, do not run out or make a sound."

“Then Daddy and I will make a pinky promise.”

"Okay, pinky promise, never to change for a hundred years."

The child's innocent voice and the man's voice overlapped, and then the wooden door closed tightly.

Although she was very scared, she wasn't scared anymore after making a pinky promise with her father.

She hid in that dark, cold cellar, covering her head and closing her eyes tightly. No matter what sound she heard, she remained silent and did not go out, as agreed.

She didn't go out on her own; a group of people opened the cellar and carried her out.

Her father didn't come back to pick her up, so she couldn't leave. But no matter how much she struggled, the group of people forcibly took her away. They sealed off her and her father's house with white paper strips.

“This is my eldest brother’s child. His mother died in childbirth. Now my eldest brother has also passed away… Sigh, after all, she is my eldest brother’s flesh and blood. We can’t just leave her unattended. So let’s transfer her to our family.”

...

"You mean... your father, who died five years ago, came looking for you last night?"

"Um..."

“But… that’s a full five years ago…” Zhuang Xing frowned.

It is impossible for a ghost to exist for five years. Without a place to reside, even if a ghost hides during the day and comes out at night, it will still dissipate into the world after a while.

"What did he say to you?" Zhuang Xing asked again.

"Father didn't say anything... he just came to see me... and patted my head..."

Zhuang Xing became increasingly confused; this was quite different from the typical characteristics of a ghost.

But suddenly, the white mouse jumped out again. It ran onto the bed and bared its teeth at Yunling.

Zhuang Xing noticed something unusual again. How did the white rat know that Yunling was in trouble?

Although this white rat was on good terms with Zhuang Xing and Yunling, it was still just a small animal. It always came and went as it pleased and never showed its face to outsiders.

But today things are different; he insists on following Zhuang Xing to the village.

As Zhuang Xing looked at the increasingly prominent "king" character on its belly, a series of strange features suddenly connected in his mind.

"I think I... understand..."

He vaguely realized that although this was a ghost, it was not a naturally formed ghost!

Chapter 42 Tiger's Accomplice

"Yunling, what I'm about to say is all speculation, but I hope you'll listen carefully." Zhuang Xing held Yunling's hand and looked into her eyes.

"Hmm...I'm listening..." Yunling breathed slightly, fine beads of sweat seeping from her skin.

“Your father has probably become a vengeful spirit,” Zhuang Xing said seriously.

"A ghost...so...Father...has he become a ghost?" Yunling asked. "Then...the one I saw last night was indeed Father..."

Zhuang Xing saw a hint of joy on Yunling's face.

This is not something hard to understand. The reason why people are afraid of ghosts is actually a fear of death.

But for Yunling, the ghost that represents death is her father.

Her mother died in childbirth, and most of her memories are of her father.

Her father was her support, her source of security, and her closest person.

When the tiger demon broke into the village, her father locked her in the cellar to protect her, and then died.

For Yunling, her father's death was unbearable.

Now, five years later, she has the opportunity to see her father, which is naturally a great surprise for her.

But Zhuang Xing had to shatter her illusions and make her understand that ghosts and living people were no longer the same thing.

“That’s right, your father has become a ghost, and not just any ghost, but a chang ghost.”

"What is a 'Changgui'?"

"Tiger accomplice, tiger ghost, accomplice ghost, there are many names for this kind of ghost. It is said that after a person is eaten by a tiger, his soul will become the tiger's servant, acting as the tiger's accomplice, leading the living to the tiger so that the tiger can eat him."

“Ordinary ghosts will dissolve quickly and could never exist for five years. But chang ghosts are different. They are ghosts that are raised. Tigers are their masters. Once they become chang ghosts, they have no way to resist tigers.”

Actually, calling them owners isn't quite right. According to what Zhuangxing has learned, tigers are more like slave owners to the cougars, or rather, heartless, fraudulent bosses who don't pay wages and abuse their employees.

"Raising...you mean Father was raised by a tiger demon?"

Yunling seemed unable to accept this explanation. She was usually very quiet, but whenever her father was mentioned, she became agitated.

"But the tiger demon is already dead. I saw its corpse with my own eyes. It was beheaded by a very, very powerful person, and its body was dismantled and sold for money by the villagers. The tiger demon is dead, so how could Father become a vengeful ghost?"

“Your reasoning makes a lot of sense, and I can’t refute it. But as I said at the beginning, what I said was just my guess.” Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling looked at each other. “After all, many things don’t go as written in books. The situation we are in now is more complicated than that of ordinary ghosts, and it is even a bit confusing.”

Yunling looked into Zhuang Xing's eyes and quieted down: "I'm sorry... Zhuang Xing... please continue."

Zhuang Xing nodded, pointed to the "王" (king) character on the white rat's belly, and said, "Don't you think this looks a lot like the stripes on a tiger's forehead?"