Chapter 49: The Soul - Summoning Incantation (1/2)

The stench from Ma Li's wife was legendary corpse poison, similar to tuberculosis, spreading through the air. To prevent it from harming others, I'd used a glutinous rice jar to 压制 (suppress) her clothes, blocking the poison's 挥发 (volatilization).

Women's intimate items are considered filthy in yin - yang lore, effective against evil spirits. The corpse puppet still held her seven 魄 (spirits), so I placed Ma Hong's used sanitary pads at the jar's bottom, 贴着 (stuck to) the clothes, filled it with rice, and wrapped red thread around a stone like a chain to lock the puppet. This technique came from yaosheng 术 (malign magic), a "control spell."

The peachwood stakes, called soul - nailing stakes, were carved into nine figures: six nailed the six yin directions to trap the flying corpse in the well, and three remained for the three 魂 (souls)—heaven, earth, and human. The corpse puppet, formed from blood fiend energy, reacted to each stake; after six were driven in, she returned to her true form.

Many wonder why zombies fear glutinous rice. Western Han Dynasty folklore records its efficacy. Xijing Zaji (Miscellanea of the Western Capital) states: "On the first morning of the first lunar month, people washed by the pond, ate penger (a cake of wormwood and rice flour), to exorcise evil." Penger was the precursor to modern glutinous rice. The book, compiled by Ge Hong in the Jin Dynasty from Liu Xin's Han Dynasty notes, chronicles Western Han anecdotes.

The rice jar filtered corpse poison, preventing a village plague. Gasping for air, I heard villagers whisper about Ma Li's wife's horrific decay—unnatural for a recent corpse, confirming the zombie theory.

The chief grabbed his loudspeaker: "Folks, we saw it—Master here exorcised the zombie! We're descendants of Genghis Khan—stay strong!" He whispered, "Master, is it over?"

Weakly shaking my head, I asked for water. In full view, I drew an evil - dispelling talisman, burned it, stirred the ashes into water, and drank. After ten minutes' rest, the blood fiend had caused minimal damage. When I opened my eyes, brave women had joined the crowd.

"Creepy—how'd she rot so fast? Those teeth and leaps—no wall could stop her," someone muttered.

Ma Hong retorted: "Who's calling us cursed? We've never done wrong! If she became a zombie, it's because some of you sell rotten pork!" Her wit almost made me laugh, despite the stench.

I drew a soul - summoning talisman and turned to the chief: "Have someone put this around her neck."

Humans have three souls and seven spirits. After death, one soul returns to heaven, one to earth, and one lingers (often in wrongful deaths). Souls are good, spirits evil, but souls dominate. Her human soul was trapped by the flying corpse; summoning it back and burning it would destroy the puppet and wound the corpse.

The chief trembled like he held a grenade. No one volunteered until he pointed at Ma Li: "You're her husband—do it."

Ma Li, pale and 瘫软 (paralyzed), clutched his stomach: "Uncle, I need to shit..." He fled to the outhouse and didn't return.

"Useless coward!" The chief turned to Ma Hong, but I stopped her: "Men must do it—women's yin energy might worsen the fiend."

Desperate, the chief yelled at a youth: "Er Gou, she's your sister—put it on!"

"She's my cousin..." Er Gou wept, "Uncle, I'm scared..."