Chapter 65: Woman (1 / 2)

Sensing I was upset, Shen Qingluan gently comforted me,

"I believe what you said. Some things really can't be explained by science. I saw something strange myself at Shisheng Temple when I was little."

"Oh?" That piqued my interest. That thousand-year-old temple had always given me a sense of mystery, especially with Master Miaoyin's uncanny ability to foresee the future—it made me both respectful and curious.

Shen Qingluan told me that when she was about eight years old, she often had nightmares. But each time she woke up, she couldn't remember what she'd dreamt—only that she'd felt an overwhelming fear. Sometimes she'd even wake up with mysterious bruises and claw marks on her body. Her health was poor, and she was frequently hospitalized.

Then, by chance, her father met Master Miaoyin and brought her to the temple. The master spoke only one word and asked her to recite scriptures at the temple for ten days. From that point on, those strange and frightening events never happened again.

I became curious.

"What word did Master Miaoyin say?"

"Mi (pronounced 'mei')," Shen Qingluan answered, her eyes distant as if recalling the past."He made me chant sutras every day for ten days. During the first nine days, it felt like voices were cursing me, threatening me, whispering horrible things. But on the tenth day, everything changed. All the noise faded, and it felt like those voices were chanting alongside me."

Those who've watched TV dramas might know about the Buddhist Six-Character Mantra:"Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum" (唵嘛呢叭咪吽).

The "Mi" character represents the "Diamond Realm Heart"—a wish for spiritual achievement. It signifies relying on the power of the Buddha to reach enlightenment, save all sentient beings, and eventually become a Buddha oneself. In Buddhist rituals, it's also used to ward off spirits and demons.

This got me thinking. Something didn't feel right, so I asked:

"Would you mind sharing your birth date and time?"

To my surprise, Shen Qingluan agreed without hesitation. We were close, after all. She trusted me. For someone in our field, a person's Ba Zi (birth date and time) is critical—it's a tool that can be used for good or ill, even to harm someone. I myself am always cautious about sharing mine.

But once I calculated it… I was shocked.

Shen Qingluan's fate aligns with what we Daoists call the "Yin-Bone Dao Body"—a pure Yin constitution. Such a person is considered an ideal sacrifice for dark sorcery. If an evil sorcerer prepares four people with pure Yin and four with pure Yang bodies, they can use a forbidden ritual to "borrow life from the next world"—and it will have a 100% success rate.

A legitimate "life-extending" method is something like Zhuge Liang's Kongming Lantern ritual—but even then, success depends on Heaven's will and can only be used by highly virtuous individuals.

The Yin-Bone Dao Body naturally attracts spirits. As I mentioned earlier, someone who dies unnaturally must wait until their rightful lifespan ends before entering the afterlife—or find a replacement soul, commonly referred to as a "substitute death." That practice is dark and often done by confused or malicious spirits.

There are nine types of wrongful death spirits, each carrying the heaviest grudges:

Death by accident

Death by execution

Death from lewd behavior

Death by fire

Drowning

Killed by animals (like the infamous zoo incident in Beijing)

Falling from a cliff

Death by black magic

Starvation

Spirits of these deaths are the most dangerous—they're filled with hatred and often hurt the living.

If I guessed correctly, Master Miaoyin probably had Shen Qingluan recite the Kṣitigarbha Sutra to cleanse her spirit using the temple's sacred light, slowly transforming her Yin constitution into a Yang one.

If I had handled it, I would've used Nine Thunder Talismans, sealed her nine orifices, and driven off all spirits and demons. That would've settled it as well—but clearly, Master Miaoyin's way was more peaceful.

Shen Qingluan looked at me with her big bright eyes:

"What's wrong? Did you find something?"

I smiled and said:

"Nothing. Everything's great. You'll have a long life, smooth and happy."

She giggled:

"Alright, alright—cut the fortune-teller talk."Then she glanced around,"Looks like everyone's already gone back. It's getting dark… all these graves around are giving me the creeps. Let's head back to camp."