Volume 1 Chapter 35 Return to the Evil
Since we were in the mourning hall, Long Shaohui went forward to burn incense and pay his respects as usual. Shen Bing and I stood behind and bowed, looking up at the two portraits hanging on the wall. On the left was a middle-aged man with a big smile on his face. His expression was very similar to Yaxue's. Needless to say, he was Yaxue's bastard father Ling Peiqiang.
Seeing the photo of Yaxue on the right, smiling slightly, my heart ached. Although I knew she was still alive, she was not a human being, but a living corpse! I revealed the truth today not only to avenge her, but also for the innocent babies who died, and to prevent such a heinous tragedy from happening again in the future!
A middle-aged woman stood in front of the coffin, with a white flower pinned to her chest, a sad face, and red and swollen eyes. Without a second glance, you can immediately tell that she is Yaxue's mother. The two look so much alike, a woman in her late 50s, still so beautiful.
A group of men and women in mourning knelt before the coffin. After we finished worshipping the deceased, they returned the greeting and cried bitterly. They must have been hired professional "wake-up callers", because the Ling family only had Yaxue as a daughter, and if they didn't invite someone to cry with them, it would be a dull occasion.
The two bodies were placed in two temperature-controlled coffins, with wreaths placed on them and clusters of flowers piled up in front of the coffins. An oil lamp was lit on the coffin table, which was the eternal lamp.
The constant temperature coffin is transparent. Standing in my position, I can basically see the appearance of the deceased inside. He is wearing shrouds and his face is covered with white cloth. It should be that his death is too horrible for people to see.
Then I looked up at the four corners of the roof of the mourning hall. There was a white paper lantern hanging on each of them. Candles were lit inside, emitting a soft red light. I sneered, thinking that although the mourning hall seemed to be empty, there were many mysteries in these four lanterns. If I guessed correctly, the lamp holders under the candles were the statues of the four spirits.
What are the Four Spirits? They are Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird and Black Tortoise, also known as the Four Symbols!
The Four Spirits are the four guardian gods of Taoism. With them guarding the four corners of the mourning hall, not only evil spirits, but even the judges dare not enter without permission. Although this evil-repelling arrangement is simple, it cannot be done by people without profound Taoist skills. Because the weak Tianshi cannot invite the four guardian gods at all.
The Four Symbols are very powerful in exorcising evil spirits, but the counterattack is to break it. In the four directions of the Eight Diagrams, a piece of black cloth is buried in each of them. This is used for blindfolding. It is that simple. The eyes of the four spirits are blindfolded. Now when the ghost comes in, none of the four old men can see it.
"The incense is on, it's time for you to leave." Yaxue's mother Yan Ning asked them to leave.
Long Shaohui nodded, said a few words of comfort, and waved his hand for us to go out together.
I stood still, feeling lucky because I had been with Yaxue for such a long time, and today was the first time I met her mother, and in such a special environment as a funeral hall. I needed some courage to face her.
Seeing that I didn't move, Shen Bing shook her head at me, meaning that the team leader asked me to leave. I winked at her, which was the secret signal we had discussed earlier, asking her to cooperate with me and pretend to continue the double act. Since Long Shaohui and the others came, neither of us spoke, including Tan Qing who kept apologizing to me, and I just nodded. Maybe he thought I was Shen Bing.
Shen Bing frowned and looked embarrassed, but finally walked behind me and covered her mouth.
"Aunt, I'm Xifeng." I stared at Yan Ning and finally mustered up the courage to speak.
Yan Ning was stunned, staring at me for a long time, then nodded and said, "It's you, I've seen your photo." After saying this, his face darkened: "You killed my daughter, get out of the mourning hall, I don't want to see you!"
Long Shaohui and the others were also stunned. They had no idea that a country bumpkin like me had a connection with Director Ling's family.
I said solemnly: "Aunt, I know it was because of me that Yaxue jumped into the lake."
When Yan Ning heard this, her face changed immediately, her eyes widened in shock, and she couldn't speak for a long time. Not only her, but also Long Shaohui, Le Wei, Tan Qing and Yan Xiang, besides Shen Bing, all showed different expressions, some were surprised, some were surprised. I saw fear in Yan Xiang's eyes, or it could be my conjecture, I took it for granted.
"Nonsense, who told you that my daughter jumped into the lake? My daughter died in the fire last night!" Yan Ning shouted, but when she spoke, she did not dare to look into my eyes, but looked behind me.
I thought that her reaction clearly showed that she knew her daughter was a living corpse. I had no evidence and couldn't expose it yet, lest Long Shaohui get angry and take me back to the police station. I nodded and said , "I heard it from others. No matter how she died, I am very sad and want to see her for the last time." Then I took a step forward.
Yan Ning ran over in shock, blocked the coffin, and said in a panic, "You are not allowed to look at my daughter. I want you to get out."
The director's wife suddenly lost her composure, leaving everyone dumbfounded. Long Shaohui was a man of character. He came over immediately, frowned and said to me, "Mrs. Ling doesn't allow you to see her daughter . Go away and don't embarrass me." His tone was surprisingly gentle, and he didn't get angry with me. Maybe he paid attention to his image in public.
I looked up at him and said, "If I can get her daughter to tell me how she died, will that be considered embarrassing for you?"
Long Shaohui was stunned, a hint of anger flashed in his eyes at first, then he saw my calm look and blinked at me. I understood what he meant, that he acquiesced.
"Boy, you'd better stop messing around. Master Yan Xiang is here. Do you dare to show off your skills and let the corpse speak?" Tan Qing said behind me. The old man was reminding me.
But Yan Xiang glanced coldly behind me and said, "Mr. Tan, you are praising me too much. You should know that there are always people better than you. This young man may not be any worse than me. I only know that Huisha Gui will come back tonight, but as for whether he can speak, that is uncertain."
Since he mentioned the term "returning ghost", I will explain this term. In our industry, we call the departure of the wrongly dead "out of the ghost", and the return visit the day before the funeral is called "returning ghost"! The "returning ghost" I have been talking about refers to the two deceased's dead souls. Because the two bodies will be cremated tomorrow and then put into urns, which is equivalent to the funeral, so at midnight tonight, the dead souls will definitely come back to take a look, and they are called "returning ghosts"!
"Master Yan, you are famous in the provincial capital, so there is no need to be modest. I only know that Huisha will never speak, so I advise this kid not to make trouble. Besides, Huisha is not 100% certain, some may have already crossed the Naihe Bridge, and it is impossible for them to return on the seventh day..."
As Tan Qing was speaking, a chilly wind suddenly blew through the mourning hall, making the elegiac couplets and wreaths rustle. The four lanterns on the roof swayed slightly, and the candlelight flickered , making people feel a sense of weirdness. Tan Qing stopped talking immediately.
Everyone looked up and around. Needless to say, even an outsider could see that the door faced south, while the wind was coming from the east. It was probably a return of bad luck!
