Losing One's Soul

I left the bathroom in a daze and walked to the end of the corridor.

The dojo was simply furnished, but the layout was clear, a sign of a master's work. The altar was fully equipped with all sorts of items, even those unrelated to Feng Shui masters.

I remembered that besides her grandfather who first taught her, Zhao Qian's master also had a female lay Buddhist. It seemed some of these items belonged to her.

Where did this female lay Buddhist go, leaving so much behind?

However, with Song Wanyi present, I didn't feel comfortable meddling with these things. I arranged the talismans I had drawn, rearranged the items on the altar, lit twelve high-quality incense sticks, and began reciting the incantation.

As I reached the end, I used a brand-new surgical knife from the room to cut my middle finger and began to rewrite some incantations on the soul urn with my vital blood. The process was the same as when I subdued Xijun, only the incantation was slightly different.

"Here, blood food." I looked at Song Wanyi kneeling beside me and awkwardly extended my middle finger. If it were Xijun, I wouldn't feel any pressure at all.

But Song Wanyi was a female ghost of the same age as Zhao Qian and Yu Xiao Xue, and an unappointed Mountain God at that. This method, like feeding chicks and ducklings, seemed a bit off, making me feel uneasy.

Song Wanyi knelt silently beside me, her pitch-black eyes with a hint of red looking at me, her face neither happy nor angry.

This made me feel awkward, with my finger extended in mid-air.

She hadn't consumed anyone's vital blood before. As a Mountain Ghost, she had so many things she could eat, and the spiritual energy of the mountain was enough for her daily activities. It wasn't wrong for her to disdain human vital blood.

So, directly consuming vital blood was a very novel experience for her.

She looked for a moment, then finally extended her hands to hold mine. After thinking for a moment, her rosy lips parted slightly and lightly touched the blood dripping from my middle finger.

Wanyi's lips were crimson, different from Xijun's, and even more so from ordinary fierce ghosts. She was clearly much more powerful. The moment her rosy lips touched my vital blood, she seemed to feel a burning sensation that penetrated her body and mind, and her eyes lit up.

She took my hand and began to suck. I could feel a continuous flow of blood leaving my body. My Blood Essence had been greatly depleted last night, and now I had to feed her vital blood after returning from the mountain. I immediately felt dizzy.

However, Song Wanyi seemed to have developed a taste for it. When I instinctively tried to pull my hand away, a hint of reluctance flashed in her eyes, as if she didn't want to.

I remembered how she had almost soul-hooked me with the soul bell before, and immediately sobered up. I shouted, "Cease!"

Song Wanyi then startled awake, seemingly realizing that her actions just now had already incorporated a technique to seduce me into continuing to supply her with blood.

But being shrewd, she quickly concealed her panic, extended her tongue, and gently licked the wound on my middle finger, cleaning off the last trace of blood.

The gentle scene was like lovers flirting. I got goosebumps all over. This Song Wanyi, who appeared to be a lady from a good family, could sometimes act in ways that sent chills down my spine. Her inherent charm made her soul-hooking seem effortless, as if she could achieve it with every move.

I suppressed a surge of restlessness in my heart, clearing my mind of impure thoughts. After regaining clarity, I relit the incense and candles, then placed them on the divine altar.

"You have consumed my vital blood, and from now on, you will be under my control and at my command. I will provide you with blood food regularly. If either of us goes back on this, we will face the soul-reaping of the four directional gods and eight directional ghost kings. Do you understand?"

I quickly lit the incense and placed it on the altar with paper talismans inscribed with "Four Directional Gods, Eight Directional Ghost Kings."

Song Wanyi nodded and also knelt to worship the gods and spirits of the sacrifice.

After the ceremony, I had Song Wanyi enter the new soul urn and then carried the old soul urn to the peach tree. I found a good spot and buried her beneath it.

Now that I've raised a fierce ghost, burying ashes under the peach tree in the courtyard is something I can do. Anyway, everyone around me is a ghost, so it doesn't matter anymore.

Returning to the study, I opened my computer and started searching for red clothes on some fashion websites, and I called Xijun over to watch.

Xijun hugged my neck, her small eyes fixed on the various bright red ancient costumes appearing on the computer screen.

Soon, she found a luxurious outfit that somewhat resembled Sister Wife's phoenix crown and embroidered cape.

I immediately opened the color printer and printed out the picture.

Xijun was overjoyed when she saw the picture of the outfit that so closely resembled Sister Wife's, her eyes not blinking once.

"I need to ask your Sister Zhao Qian first and see how she can help you get it, okay? But this headdress is impossible; it's only used for weddings. Xijun, you're still young, so let's skip the headdress, alright?" I said to Xijun.

Xijun nodded vigorously, seeming to urge me to get it done.

Actually, I didn't think she was that interested in the headdress. She just thought Sister Wife's outfit would suit her.

I walked out of the study with the printed drawing and found Zhao Qian sitting on the sofa with Yu Xiao Xue.

Zhao Qian was wearing a simple and elegant dress, her face still flushed, as if she hadn't recovered from the incident in the bathroom where I saw her naked. Seeing me approach, she shifted uncomfortably.

"Qian." I greeted her.

"Tian Ge..." Zhao Qian looked over, her beauty alluring.

Yu Xiao Xue watched TV and ate candy, glancing at us. She looked very confused, wondering what had happened between us in such a short time.

"It's like this. I have an outfit here that Xijun really likes. Her current one is a bit too simple, so I was wondering if I could burn it for her? It might be a bit difficult, but can you see if you can help her?" I carefully handed over the drawing.

Zhao Qian noticed that I didn't seem to care about the bathroom incident and that I genuinely needed her help. She took the drawing and, after looking at it for a while, said, "This is no problem. Qian can use five-colored paper as material, cut it carefully, and then burn it for her."

When I heard Zhao Qian readily agree, I immediately asked, "Is this five-colored paper the paper money of blue, yellow, red, white, and black? The kind used to burn for little ghosts or young child spirits? But do you have such a large piece?"

"Yes, Qian has some prepared in her dojo. Qian has done this kind of work before. I remember a wealthy merchant's daughter drowned and died. After her death, she kept appearing in the merchant's dreams, saying she was naked and had no clothes in the underworld. Although the merchant had burned many clothes for her, it didn't help, so he asked Qian for assistance. After Qian researched it, she realized that the items being burned were not made of special paper, hence they were ineffective."

"Qian found five-colored paper and cut some according to the styles of clothes the girl liked before. After burning them for her, the merchant happily told Qian the next day that his daughter had appeared in his dreams again, wearing the clothes Qian had made, and said she liked them very much and could finally reincarnate," Zhao Qian said happily. She was actually excited because she could help me, as she usually relied on my help.

"Hmm... I see. Naked..." Hearing her words, my mind drifted back to the bathroom incident, and I muttered absently.

Zhao Qian's face instantly turned red. Even Yu Xiao Xue couldn't stand it anymore. "Tian Ge!"

"Oh! Oh, sorry, I got distracted. I was thinking that if the merchant saw his daughter naked, he would surely be embarrassed. This needs to be resolved, and it needs to be resolved quickly. It's fortunate he met you." My old face also turned red as I quickly found an excuse.

"Tian Ge! What are you thinking! When did Qian say the merchant was male! She's female..." Zhao Qian grabbed the drawing and ran upstairs.

"See, Tian Ge is so naughty, he angered Sister Qian. Aren't you going to chase after her and apologize?" Yu Xiao Xue stuck out her tongue.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head, sighing. I had no idea what those two had been talking about lately. Yu Xiao Xue and Zhao Qian's relationship had become even closer than mine, and they weren't helping me out of awkward situations anymore.

I was indeed a bit absent-minded. I didn't know why, but perhaps due to the depletion of my Blood Essence, I kept zoning out today, my mind going blank in waves.

After Yu Xiao Xue reminded me, I took Xijun's soul urn and prepared to go upstairs to apologize, and also to find a new home for Xijun.

As soon as I got upstairs, Zhao Qian was already carrying a pile of five-colored paper into the bedroom and closed the door.

It seemed Zhao Qian was really angry. I felt like I needed to do some serious self-reflection today.

Finding a new home for Xijun wasn't very difficult, as it was a part of the fierce ghost upgrade process that had appeared many times in Grandma's books.

After the ghost I raised had its abilities improved, the original soul urn, unable to withstand the strengthened ghost's power, had partially canceled out the curse inscriptions. This meant the soul urn had a certain chance of being damaged if it couldn't bear the energy. Therefore, if the owner couldn't replace it with a higher-level soul urn, the soul would dissipate without the support of the urn.

The process was similar to before. Blood food was also essential. Enduring the depletion of my Blood Essence, I cut my middle finger again and fed Xijun with blood food to form a contract.

Everything went smoothly, and Xijun was very satisfied with her new soul urn, as she had chosen it herself.

Suddenly, I felt that my Blood Essence was dangerously depleted. When I stood up, my vision went black in waves, and I almost fell onto the table.

I had originally planned to wait for Zhao Qian to finish making the clothes before burning them for Xijun, but I couldn't wait any longer. What I needed most seemed to be rest. I struggled to stand straight and went downstairs, holding onto the handrail.

"Xue, I'm going to take a nap. I didn't sleep last night and feel exhausted. I'll probably wake up around lunchtime. We'll have guests from the Zhang Family. You and Zhao Qian can be in charge of cooking. Wake me up when they arrive," I said, opening the study door.

"Okay, Tian Ge! Xiao Xue will let you try Xiao Xue's cooking!" Yu Xiao Xue said, waving her little fist.

I closed the door, feeling dizzy and disoriented. I touched my forehead; it was very hot. I seemed to have a fever as well.

"Xijun, Song Wanyi, guard me." Cold sweat broke out on my forehead. Since childhood, I rarely got fevers because Sister Wife had been secretly taking care of me. Something must have gone wrong this time.

I collapsed onto the bed with a thud. In a daze, I saw Xijun emerge from her soul urn. Seeing my pale face, she seemed very panicked and came over to press her face against mine.

Song Wanyi, on the other hand, frowned slightly and knelt by the bedside, looking worried.

At some point, a loud shout woke me up.

"You, Xia Yitian! After investigation: Born in an Yin year, Yin month, Yin hour, Yin刻, Yin birth, with a destiny lacking a destiny, and an early demise! You have committed two great sins: stealing fate and killing a Underworld Emissary! We are acting under the orders of the Underworld to reopen your case and reclaim your life! If you resist, you will be subjected to the torture of having your tongue ripped out and being thrown into an oil pot!"