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This was clearly a case of asking for too much, but I had to admit it was indeed a good method. Three thousand at a time, twice a year, that adds up to six thousand, which isn't particularly excessive. Zheng's Father readily agreed, and Ma Rulong, considering my involvement, also agreed to perform the ritual first and collect the payment later. I was eager to see how this so-called secret technique of the Longhu Mountain sect was executed, but Ma Rulong mentioned that since it was a secret technique, it naturally wouldn't be shared with outsiders. Therefore, he took Zheng Xuejie into the bedroom and closed the door to prevent us from peeking.
I listened at the door for a while but didn't hear much noise, only the sound of Ma Rulong's murmurs. It wasn't until early morning that he opened the door. The first person to come out was Zheng Xuejie. She looked very tired, but as soon as she made eye contact with Qin Senior Sister, she immediately ran over crying and embraced her. Qin Senior Sister sensed something from this familiar gesture and started crying as well.
I walked over to Ma Rulong and asked if it had been successful. He replied, "If it weren't successful, would these two sisters be crying like this? By the way, this money is your guarantee; if their family doesn't pay up, I'll have to come to you for it."
I reassured him that they were in good financial standing and wouldn't default on such a small amount. Then I asked him how the wind direction test had gone last night; I hoped there wouldn't be any issues because of Zheng Xuejie's situation. Ma Rulong said it was close; fortunately, his Dao Xing was profound enough to stabilize the situation. The first batch of souls that ascended with the Soul Lantern had already reincarnated normally, indicating that the wind direction was fine and the ritual could continue.
Once Zheng Xuejie regained consciousness, she expressed her feelings about the experience with great emotion. During her soul's slumber, she felt as if she were floating in the sea—unable to grasp anything or find solid ground. It wasn't until her soul awakened that she realized there was still another "person" residing within her. Although she had overheard her parents discussing this matter when she was young, she didn't understand the specifics; now learning the truth from us left her quite shocked. At the same time, she felt fortunate for her good luck.
To have a conscious soul sleep for twenty years is an immense torment. She was grateful for what we had done to prevent her twin sister from being lost forever and expressed her willingness to alternate awakening her soul every six months as a way to make amends for her grandmother's past mistakes.
According to Qin Senior Sister, since everything was fine now, it was time to go back. However, I still wanted to witness the formal Extradition Ceremony. Although Zheng Xuejie had previously been dissatisfied with me due to the Amulet incident, her attitude was now exceedingly good. With her persuasion, Qin Senior Sister agreed to stay an extra day.
That evening, Ma Rulong set up the table again in the same manner as the previous night. This time, however, he didn't ask me to help move jars but instead cleared an area in front of the door. I then discovered that beneath the dust lay a large wooden board covered in numerous symbols painted with Gold Paint. Since both Senior Sisters and I were inside the house at that moment, I didn't have time to ask Ma Rulong why he was handling this wooden board.
He then moved the board aside and walked around its rectangular outline while scattering rice every few steps and chanting: "Humans and ghosts walk different paths; yin and yang are separated. Eat rice from this life; become a person in the next life. Let go of past grievances; abide by this place's rules and wait for reincarnation."
After completing a circle, he dragged an enormous Sky Lantern into the open space, then returned to the table where he picked up several Paper Talismans with a peach wood sword and lit them with candlelight before beginning his sword dance. Zheng Xuejie watched intently and praised him: "Don't be fooled by his size; his swordsmanship is really impressive."
Qin Senior Sister said somewhat helplessly: "You're just smitten; can you not be so infatuated?"
Two women nearby laughed and chatted for a while. When Ma Rulong took out the compass, he sprinkled glutinous rice and paper talismans while shouting, "Heaven is desolate, earth is vast, Taishang Laojun shows divine power. Today, I send the spirits on their journey, open the underworld, and walk the path of the dead. With the protection of the Five Ding and Six Jia gods, hurry as per the command!"
This time, he didn't use a wooden sword to strike anything because there were no clay pots in front of him. After lighting the sky lantern, Ma Rulong raised the compass high and shouted, "The path to the underworld is open; why wait any longer to let the lanterns guide you to rebirth!"
I was puzzled; there wasn't even an urn for ashes. Who was he calling for?
At that moment, an unknown number of Yin Qi suddenly surged up from the ground. They gathered around the sky lantern like ants, densely packed. Cold sweat immediately broke out on my forehead as I involuntarily looked at the empty space in front of the table. Yin Qi wouldn't just appear for no reason; something must be buried underground. Remembering that Ma Rulong had used an urn for sending souls to reincarnate before, I couldn't help but think that there might be countless ashes buried beneath.
Zheng Xuejie and Qin Senior Sister were ordinary people; although they couldn't sense Yin Qi, they noticed that the air around them felt somewhat oppressive. Perhaps due to too many spirits hanging above, the sky lantern rose slowly. Ma Rulong impatiently bit his finger and smeared a line of blood on the compass, shouting, "Guide us with spirit; go quickly!"
The thick Yin Qi from the compass surged out like a dragon, circling around the sky lantern before heading towards a certain direction in the sky. Its path resembled a broad avenue, with countless spirits closely following behind. The speed at which the sky lantern ascended increased significantly. Zheng Xuejie looked confused and said, "Is this how you send someone to reincarnate? It’s no different from a couple releasing lanterns."
I had no time to explain to her; usually, even one malevolent spirit could cause chaos. Now there were at least hundreds of spirits attached to the sky lantern; if a few caused trouble, I wouldn't have the ability to save anyone. Qin Senior Sister didn’t understand much about this either, but her gentle nature was unlike Zheng Xuejie’s brashness. She said, "Don't speak carelessly; if we can see through it all, what’s so mysterious about it?"
After about twenty or thirty minutes, the enormous sky lantern gradually disappeared into the horizon. Soon after, a stream of Yin Qi returned and vanished into the compass. Ma Rulong let out a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and then called me over to help cover up the wooden board. Although I felt somewhat nervous inside, I curiously examined that empty space and asked, "What’s buried down there? It wouldn’t be those spirits’ ashes, would it?"
"Ah, you can be taught..." Ma Rulong replied. "Besides ashes, there are also some of their favorite belongings from their lifetime. How do you feel? Isn’t it spectacular? Thousands of spirits ascend together; one lantern guides them—most people never get a chance to witness this."
I scoffed and said, "Invisible and untouchable things... Besides, with so many people's ashes mixed together, aren’t you afraid it’ll get all mixed up?"
"What do you know!" Ma Rulong retorted. "This is using mountain peaks as altars; it's one of the highest techniques in Maoshan's secret arts. My master spent a great deal to achieve this—it can accommodate tens of thousands of souls at once. So while others call this mountain Luo Fu Mountain, we refer to it as Wangsheng Mountain. Whether you're a lonely soul or a wild ghost, as long as you wish to reincarnate, you can come here. In the future when you die and have nowhere to go, remember to find me; I'll send you off for free to be reborn into a good family."
I chuckled awkwardly and said, "That’s not urgent; let’s talk about it in another hundred or eighty years. But isn’t your master the head of Longhu Mountain? How does he also practice Maoshan's secret arts?"
Ma Rulong said, "I never said that this mountain was created by my master; he just paid a certain price to invite people from Maoshan to help. As for sending souls to reincarnate, that's just a minor technique that any Taoist with some foundation can perform."
I looked in the direction where the Sky Lantern had completely vanished and said with admiration, "Your master is truly a virtuous and wise person, willing to be seen as a fool by others. It's a pity I never had the chance to meet him. However, I'm curious—can those spirits really be reincarnated?"
Ma Rulong replied, "How would I know if they can? Anyway, that's what my master said, and I just follow along."
I nodded and helped him lower the wooden board, then continuously sprinkled dirt and crushed grass over it to cover it up. By the time we finished all of this, it was already late at night. I didn't dare to rest nearby for fear that an evil spirit might suddenly appear. Ma Rulong laughed heartily and said that most of the evil spirits underground had already been sent away, so there wouldn't be any issues. If it were several decades ago, there might have been some danger.
Curiously, I asked what kind of danger. Ma Rulong explained that when his master was around, there were a few Millennium Old Ghosts underground. They were either cultivating in some Ghost Land or carried rare treasures with them. Although they hadn't achieved the status of Ghost Immortal, they could still exist in the mortal realm for a long time.
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