Top Doll

Chapter 25: Top Doll

"Soul, return! Soul, return~"

The night was still at Zi Hour, and mournful cries echoed through the darkness without end.

This personal maid was quite an interesting one.

At first, she had been trembling all over in fright. But after calling out for a while, she grew used to it and was no longer afraid. Then she remembered how kind Madam had been to her before losing consciousness, and grief welled up in her heart.

Her cries carried sobs, making the backs of many servants prickle with cold.

Wang Dao Xuan also wore a solemn expression. He picked up several little oil lamps and lit them one by one, arranging them in a line from the courtyard gate. Finally, he placed one before the unconscious woman's head...

Li Yan watched from the side, not daring to say much.

The two of them had reached an agreement.

Wang Dao Xuan would help him preserve his spirit and build his pavilion, while Li Yan would temporarily team up with him, using his mystical power to help the Daoist take on major jobs, earn some silver, and escape his predicament.

He would also explain some of the Profound Sect's methods.

The various practices of the Profound Sect seemed complicated, but in truth, they followed a set process.

In ancient times, natural disasters came without end, and evil things ran rampant.

Faced with this mysterious, unknown world, people began searching for its patterns.

They observed trees struck by lightning and discovered the uses of fire...

They observed the cycle of the seasons and the changes in the stars, then summarized them into calendars...

The Profound Sect was the same, only more mysterious. But at its root, it still meant summarizing patterns and dealing with events ordinary people could hardly perceive.

It could roughly be divided into three steps: omens, taboos, and exorcism.

Omens meant using certain phenomena and information perceived through mystical powers to perform deductions and calculations, finding the root of the problem.

The various methods of divination had been born for this reason.

Taboos referred to the characteristics of an event. There were two ways to deal with them.

The first was to obey the principles of the taboo and avoid bringing disaster upon oneself.

For example, one should not whistle in the middle of the night. Some people could whistle without incident, but if someone who had awakened Tongue Mystical Power whistled, or if an ordinary person whistled after entering a Yin Fiend Land, it would draw Yin and evil things.

Nor should one point at divine statues. When traveling at night, if one heard someone calling, one must not turn around. There were also all kinds of rules for red and white celebrations.

As time passed, these rules were passed from mouth to mouth and became what people called taboos.

As long as one did not violate them, one could generally avoid disaster.

But if one truly could not escape it, one had to perform a ritual to dispel it.

These three were the basic processes. All the Profound Sect's arts had gradually evolved from them, creating the current situation in which the Profound Sect bloomed with a hundred flowers.

The hair ash Wang Dao Xuan had burned earlier was a simple form of divination.

He had calculated the location of the Living Soul and performed a soul-calling ritual.

The next step was to perform a ritual after the Living Soul returned to the body, chanting the Soul-Soothing Scripture so that the Living Soul would no longer leave it.

Wang Dao Xuan had raised a Little Yin Soldier, so he should have been able to find it easily. But he was afraid of frightening the Living Soul into scattering. That would be little different from killing someone, so he could only choose this gentler method.

Li Yan's task was to rely on his Olfactory Mystical Power to sense the movements of the Living Soul and remind Wang Dao Xuan not to miss the opportunity to soothe it, which would cause the ritual to fail.

Among the Yang Six Roots mystical powers, each had its own strengths.

In terms of directness, the Yin Yang Eyes were undoubtedly the best. Everything within one's line of sight could be seen. A geomancer who awakened this mystical power could climb to a high place and perform Qi Observation, while a ritual master could deal with evil things more accurately...

In terms of marvel, the Will Spirit Root was supreme. Witches, spirit mediums, Rice Women, and Underworld Messengers only needed to remain at home to communicate with ghosts and gods...

In terms of searching, the Nose Spiritual Root was supreme. A powerful practitioner could detect abnormal movements within several miles with a single breath, making even a dog's nose seem dull by comparison.

At this moment, Li Yan felt somewhat displeased.

Everyone idle within the Lu Family's great residence had already withdrawn. Taking advantage of the excuse of performing a ritual to drive away evil, he had carried a willow branch and walked through the entire estate.

Unfortunately, he still could not smell that sweet fragrance from that night.

What treasure was it, exactly?

Could it be hidden in Landlord Lu's treasury?

Just as he was pondering this, movement came from the distance.

The maid stood on the roof, waving the Soul-Calling Banner and crying out continuously. After a full half hour, her throat had grown somewhat hoarse.

Her fear had completely faded, and suspicion rose in her heart.

Could it be that Master had hired a swindler?

Just then, a gust of Yin Wind blew past. The maid suddenly felt cold across her back, as though something had appeared behind her out of nowhere.

The sensation was so clear.

The maid's hair instantly stood on end, and gooseflesh covered her body.

Panic seized her. She was just about to scream when she remembered Wang Dao Xuan's earlier instructions. She simply closed her eyes and continued calling out, though her voice trembled slightly.

The deep-night silence and her shifting tone immediately caught the attention of the two people in the courtyard.

Li Yan drew a deep breath and vaguely smelled a trace of something.

It was somewhat cold, but unlike the Rampaging Soldiers, it did not carry a bloody stench.

"It's here!"

He nodded at Wang Dao Xuan and reminded him in a low voice.

Wang Dao Xuan immediately lifted a bowl of water from the ritual altar. He chanted an incantation as his feet shifted, taking one step forward, retreating one step to the left, then stepping twice to the right...

Li Yan focused his attention and watched without blinking.

This was called Pacing the Gang and Stepping the Dipper. Combined with incantations and a ritual altar, it could be used to cast spells.

Every lineage had different inheritances, and there were distinctions between high and low. According to Wang Dao Xuan, a Daoist with profound cultivation could Pace the Gang and Step the Dipper, communicate with the Innate Star Gods, draw in Innate Firm Qi, transform it for personal use, and cast spells.

It sounded almost like a myth.

But as Wang Dao Xuan performed the ritual, Li Yan also sensed something different.

A special scent rose around the ritual altar, carrying a trace of warmth. It enveloped the entire altar, making it seem like one unified whole.

Firm Qi!

Li Yan immediately understood what this was.

At this moment, Wang Dao Xuan had also entered the proper state. Holding the bowl of water, he first chanted an incantation, then took a mouthful and suddenly sprayed it out.

Pfft!

The mist churned and fell onto the wooden fish.

It was as though wind and water had risen. The Firm Qi around the ritual altar also revolved around the wooden fish.

Wang Dao Xuan set down the bowl and struck the wooden fish.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The sound of the wooden fish rang out in the night, inexplicably bringing peace to the heart.

Li Yan could smell the Firm Qi circling the ritual altar and forming a single whole before spreading outward with the sound of the wooden fish.

When the maid heard it, she felt as if a great burden had been lifted. She immediately stopped calling out, hoisted the Soul-Calling Banner, and shakily climbed down from the roof.

A ladder had been set up beforehand, but the maid's heart was in turmoil. She kept her eyes narrowed, afraid to look around, and her legs had gone somewhat limp.

Thud!

When she had climbed halfway down, her feet tangled beneath her, and she tumbled down.

Fortunately, the maid was quick-witted. Although her buttocks hurt terribly from the fall, she still held the Soul-Calling Banner high, keeping it from being crushed.

After getting up, she did not even have time to dust herself off. With a face full of misery and tears in her eyes, she raised the Soul-Calling Banner and ran toward the rear courtyard.

Fortunately, no human voices came from behind her.

The courtyard was utterly dark. Relying on the hazy moonlight and her familiarity with the terrain, the maid soon reached the rear courtyard.

Only when she saw the oil lamps Wang Dao Xuan had lit in advance did her heart relax. She felt that this shadowy road of souls had finally come to an end.

Wang Dao Xuan and Li Yan also sucked in a cold breath.

An actual human figure was standing atop the Soul-Calling Banner the maid held!

During temple fairs in the Central Plains, there was a custom called "Top Doll."

A sturdy man stood below, wearing a specially made pig-iron frame over his body. A boy or girl would stand on top, painted red and powdered white, dressed in brocade robes, and made up as various gods or historical figures while moving forward with the procession of wandering deities.

It counted as a folk custom for entertaining the gods.

The situation before them looked very much like Top Doll.

The difference was that the old woman on the Soul-Calling Banner was dressed entirely in black, Yin energy spilling from her body. Her face was frighteningly pale, and her eyes were pitch-black and lifeless. She looked horrifying to the extreme.

The Living Soul could actually be seen with the naked eye. It was truly inconceivable.

The maid had just relaxed when she noticed the strange looks in their eyes. She immediately sensed that something was wrong. She did not dare raise her head to look and instead stammered in a trembling voice, "D-D-Da... Daoist..."

"Don't be afraid!"

Although he did not know the reason, Wang Dao Xuan understood that nothing could go wrong now.

The Living Soul was like a timid rabbit, instinctively avoiding danger. During the day, it hid beneath cracks in the bricks, yet it remained attached to the physical body and would only appear at specific times.

If frightened, it would vanish instantly and flee to some desolate wilderness. Finding it again would then be exceedingly difficult.

If it were frightened into scattering completely, the First Madam inside would also die.

Wang Dao Xuan did not dare be negligent. He deliberately slowed his speech and lowered his voice as he instructed the maid, "It's fine. Don't be afraid. Just slowly walk back into the room. Don't let the Soul Guiding Lamps beside you go out."

"Mm."

The maid nodded, raised the Soul-Calling Banner, and walked shakily toward the room.

The First Madam's Living Soul atop the Soul-Calling Banner grew increasingly dense with Yin energy. Along the way, the Soul Guiding Lamps flickered unsteadily, as though they might go out at any moment. Wang Dao Xuan watched with his heart in his throat.

Seeing this, Li Yan also held his breath.

One had to understand that smelling something and witnessing it with one's own eyes were completely different matters.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong over that short distance.

The instant the maid entered the room, the oil lamp at the First Madam's bedside suddenly flared, and her Living Soul vanished with it.

Wang Dao Xuan hurriedly looked toward Li Yan.

Li Yan had been watching closely. He could smell that the cold Yin scent previously emitted by the Living Soul had attached itself to the First Madam and was growing fainter and fainter.

This was a sign of Yin and Yang harmonizing, of balance and peace.

He said nothing, merely nodding at Wang Dao Xuan.

Without another word, Wang Dao Xuan rushed into the room. Holding a long red cord, he wound it around the First Madam again and again, his hand movements shifting until he quickly tied a strange knot.

During the process, the Soul Guiding Lamp before the bed also began flickering wildly.

Finally, after trapping the Living Soul, Wang Dao Xuan untied a bell from his waist. He shook it several times, then began chanting an incantation:

"Tai Shang Tai Star, responding to change without pause, preserve life and protect the body, wisdom bright and clear, heart and spirit at peace, the three souls enduring forever, the seven po without harm or ruin, soul return to the palace, po return to support the body..."

Wang Dao Xuan's cultivation had only reached the first level, but he had clearly put in great effort in his daily practice. The moment he recited the incantation, he entered the proper state.

His voice carried a certain cadence, leisurely and far-reaching.

As the incantation continued, the Soul Guiding Lamp gradually steadied.

Li Yan relaxed at the sight.

Wang Dao Xuan had said that this was a sign that the soul had been successfully stabilized.

The job had succeeded. Wang Dao Xuan could also escape his current predicament, focus on helping Li Yan preserve his spirit and build his pavilion, and formally step into Profound Sect cultivation.

Whoosh~

Just then, a gust of Yin Wind blew past.

Li Yan's eyes widened at once as he looked left and right.

That mysterious fragrance had appeared once again!