Chapter 5: Take your money and help you get rid of disasters
Wang Jingzhe rolled up his robe and tied it around his waist before jumping into the grave. He used a crowbar to pry the coffin lid "creak, creak". After a few times, the coffin lid loosened. He grabbed the gap in the lid with one hand and opened it with a "bang". Immediately, a pungent smell of blood and decay came out.
Lin Yuan looked down for a few seconds and immediately frowned. Lin Xianyu bravely glanced at his little face and his face turned pale with fright. He turned around and started vomiting again.
The temperature in June was already over 30 degrees Celsius, and the body buried underground would have long since rotted in the stuffy conditions. In addition, the old man was crushed to death in a car accident, so the coffin was full of body parts and infested with worms.
Lin Yuan suppressed his nausea and asked, "Can this be completed?"
"It's a bit troublesome, but not a big problem . Just bring me that bag of lotus roots... You're such a glutton! You're taking this job when you're in a hurry." Wang Jingzhe muttered in dissatisfaction. This job was obviously not easy to do.
All the possible pieces of the body were put together before being put into the coffin. It was basically arranged like a normal human body, but there were a few parts missing: a shin bone, half of the right hand, a sunken chest, and a shattered left half of the head.
Wang Jingzhe took out a few lotus roots from the bag and cut them into pieces with a kitchen knife. Then he compared them with the missing parts of the corpse and used the kitchen knife to shape them into a similar shape and put them on the corpse.
In Taoism, there is a technique called lotus root substitute, which is used to replace the missing parts of the corpse.
There is a passage in The Investiture of the Gods that after Nezha died, his master Taiyi Zhenren used lotus root to save him and rebuild his body. In ancient Taoism, the lotus root with nine holes was described as spiritual, because the veins of the lotus root are similar to those of the human body. In modern medicine, the human body and lotus root are both porous , and the cells and blood vessels are very similar. Therefore, there is a Taoist technique of reconnecting the dead body, which is called lotus root substitute.
It is said that any undertaker with some skills will have a skill called corpse sewing, which is to sew up the incomplete body of the deceased. One of the skills is to use lotus roots to replace the missing parts. However, there are fewer undertakers who know this nowadays. More than a hundred years ago, there was a profession that was more proficient in this. At that time, it was called a coroner, who was responsible for both coffining and examination.
After Wang Jingzhe trimmed the lotus roots and put them away, he took out a few pieces of talisman paper and pasted them on the lotus roots. He reached out and took a brush, dipped it in cinnabar and began to draw on the blank talisman paper. Lin Yuan and Lin Xianyu on the grave saw each other's pen casually sketching a few times on the paper, and the old man's mutilated parts came to life.
After Wang Jingzhe put pen to paper, he pulled out the kitchen knife that was stuck next to him. Suddenly, Lin Yuan and Lin Xianyu felt that the stench of corpse that had just hit their noses gradually faded, and the biting cold wind around them no longer blew.
Wang Jingzhe looked up at the sky and the time was just right, not yet midnight.
This time is just right. After midnight, it is the next day and the seventh day has also passed. It will take a lot of effort to suppress the resentment in the grave.
"When the cockcrows, ask the people at the foot of the mountain to come up and take out the coffin, and bury it somewhere else." Wang Jingzhe pulled the coffin board over and covered it, saying, "The feng shui of this hillside is good. Where there is a source of blessing, there will be a place of conflict. Just find a place on the back of this hillside, dig a hole and bury it."
"Is that it?" Lin Yuan always felt that the other party's ending was a bit too hasty. You have to use a compass or count on your fingers or something.
“After the coffin is buried, you’d better hold a ritual for the old man and recite sutras for a few days to calm his anger. Although you are fine now, he might still haunt you in a dream or something. Isn’t that scary?” Wang Jingzhe climbed up and brushed off the dust on his robe, then continued, “A hundred days after the man’s death, you’d better do some good deeds in the name of the old man and put his name on the list, so that when he goes to the underworld, the King of Hell will not embarrass him because he has killed too many lives and make it difficult for him to reincarnate. No matter what a person has done in his life, he may not think it’s a big deal, but the underworld will keep a record of it, and it will come to you after you die, so what I said…”
Lin Yuan and Lin Xianyu breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. After listening to Wang Jingzhe's instructions, they looked inquiringly when they saw him pause.
Wang Jingzhe stretched out his fingers and twisted them, saying: "So what I said has nothing to do with me. You guys can do it on your own. I'm only responsible for the job I've taken on now."
Lin Yuan quickly bowed and said: "Thank you for your advice, sir, but please pay more attention. If there is anything we don't understand, please point it out to us."
Wang Jingzhe twirled his fingers impatiently. Lin Xianyu asked in surprise, "What are you doing?"
"Money, give me money. Are you working for nothing in the middle of the night?" Wang Jingzhe rolled his eyes. These two people were a bit tactless.
Lin Yuan immediately said "Oh" and said embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, I forgot about this in my haste. How about this, you wait until we finish the funeral tomorrow, and I will personally deliver it to you."
"Don't bother with that. Just take whatever you have on you. I'm not specifically asking for your help. I just happened to meet you on the way. You can give me whatever money you want. Just use what you have on you."
"That's not a good idea..." Lin Yuan said sincerely, "It's a little late now, and it's not very convenient to withdraw money. When the bank opens tomorrow, I'll have someone prepare a check and send it to you. You should be satisfied with the amount."
Wang Jingzhe said calmly: "For this kind of thing, it is not appropriate for me to charge too much money. No matter how much you give me, I can't take it. I take money from others to help them get rid of disasters. The amount of money you give me is the amount of disaster you can get rid of. Your family's old man's matter is only worth this much . If you give me more, I still think the money is too hot to handle."
Seeing that Wang Jingzhe insisted again and again, Lin Jingzhe pulled Lin Yuan, then took out his wallet, opened it, and took out a pile of loose change, about a thousand yuan, and handed it over.
Wang Jingzhe took it and stuffed it into his bag and said, "Don't forget what I just said, let's stop here."
Wang Jingzhe turned around and left immediately after he finished speaking. Lin Xianyu whispered in the ear of Lin Yuan, who was hesitant to speak, "Dad, he will have to stay in Caofeidian for more than half a day. I can go see him tomorrow after I bury grandpa."
"When we get to the capital tomorrow, I'll get another two pounds of pork head..." Wang Jingzhe said, clapping the banknotes in his hands.
