Ghost Rhyme

Under the oil lamp.

Ding Ling spread out the divine painting.

The divine painting seemed to be made of some kind of animal hide. It was smooth and cold to the touch, and every so often it gave one a prickling sensation.

On its front was a painting of the God of Wealth sitting in a pile of ingots. There was nothing unusual about it.

The reverse held something else.

The "Draft of Divine Makeup and Ghost Painting" was recorded on the back of the divine painting.

"Adorn the gods, Creating a Zhen; paint ghosts to walk in the yin."

"Borrowing the methods of operatic imitation, have a person play ghosts and gods, employ the Aversion-Making Art and the Eight Gates of Life and Death, and borrow the power of ghosts and gods to perform for ghosts and gods?

"Perilous, perilous..."

Zhou Yang read the writing on the back of the divine painting through Ding Ling's eyes.

He could recognize all the characters.

The handwriting on the back was rather messy. Much of the content was written in uncertain terms and tended toward the colloquial.

That only made it clearer that this was indeed a draft.

It came from the ideas of an unknown person.

Judging by Chang Dafeng's performance, some of the ideas in the draft should be practicable, but putting them into practice would surely be fraught with uncertainties and hidden, unknown dangers.

"First of the Eight Gates, the Gate of Opening: imitate the scene of Slitting the Belly and Spilling the Intestines in 'The Grand Investiture of the Six States.'"

"Stain a slip of paper bearing another person's name with your own blood, attach that person's hair and underclothing to it, and hide it in the 'northwest position of the Qian sixth palace' during the Wei hour.

"During the Wei hour on the second day, prepare pig's blood mixed with the ashes of that person's hair, underclothing, sebum, skin flakes, and the like, burned in a fire, and fill an intestine with it.

"During the Wei hour on the third day, make a 'false belly' from pigskin, place the previously prepared pig intestine inside it, and conceal it beneath your clothes.

"Then, before a mirror, imitate Gongsun Yan's makeup in 'The Grand Investiture of the Six States,' and sing, 'Rather than feed the learning in my belly to the jackals, I might as well pull it out for the people to see.' Cut open the false belly and let the pig's blood within flow out.

"At this time, ghosts or gods may come to drink the blood offering. Do not dodge or give way. Once they have consumed it all, burn the shriveled pig intestine and false belly together, then drink the ashes. If you can endure the pain of blades slashing and stabbing your abdomen, you can make the Gate of Opening manifest.

"Every movement, every frown and smile, must secretly accord with the aspect of gods and ghosts.

"Second of the Eight Gates, the Gate of Rest: imitate the three transformations of the White Bone Demon in 'Three Battles with the White Bone Demon.'"

The draft contained not only writing but also illustrative drawings.

The eight pictures all depicted the most dramatic scenes from eight opera excerpts.

For example, the picture for "The Grand Investiture of the Six States," which corresponded to the Gate of Opening, showed a figure cutting open his belly and letting his bloodstained intestines spill out. The blood was a particularly vivid red, and the sight made Zhou Yang's heart tremble.

The draft described the practice methods for the eight operatic imitations in appropriate detail.

But it did not say a single word about what might happen during practice.

Even so, the sinister quality that showed between the lines was enough to tell him that this Opera Communion with Spirits technique would be anything but easy to practice, and that danger would very likely lurk at every turn.

"What do you make of it?"

Zhou Yang asked Ding Ling.

This Manifestation Body was also a "self-taught folk opera performer," so perhaps she could give him some insight from another angle.

But Ding Ling shook her head. "I can't read..."

Zhou Yang was momentarily stunned, then understood.

In times like these, with evil ghosts running rampant, ordinary people probably struggled just to make a living. How could they even think about learning to read?

Ding Ling was a woman, too.

The way Chang Dafeng and the others spoke to Ding Ling always gave Zhou Yang the feeling that he had returned to the Qing dynasty, that age when feudal ethics devoured people.

But this place, where traces of ghosts and gods could be found everywhere, should not be the Qing dynasty Zhou Yang knew.

"You still need to learn some characters.

"A technique like this, Opera Communion with Spirits, is recorded on paper. If you can't read, wouldn't that be like entering a mountain of treasure and coming away empty-handed?" Zhou Yang said. "But this really isn't a good time to learn to read.

"I'll give you a rough explanation of this 'Draft of Divine Makeup and Ghost Painting.' Try to understand it first.

"If there's anything you can't grasp, remember it, and we'll discuss it together later."

Zhou Yang then explained everything in the draft to Ding Ling, leaving nothing out:

"First of the Eight Gates, the Gate of Opening...

"These so-called Eight Gates should refer to the concept of the 'eight gates' in Qimen Dunjia.

"The eight gates are Opening, Rest, Life, Injury, Obstruction, View, Death, and Fear. They each correspond to directions in heaven and earth, the twelve double-hours, and the heavenly stems and earthly branches. Doing certain things at the corresponding time and place may open the corresponding 'gate.'

"This gate is like a door, but it isn't really one. You can understand the eight gates as the transformations of the energies of heaven and earth, changes in opportunity and circumstance, constantly turning and vanishing in an instant."

Zhou Yang taught Ding Ling everything as he understood it, mixing in some basic knowledge of Qimen Dunjia.

He felt that what he had said was not really difficult to understand. It was even quite simple.

But Ding Ling still found it difficult to understand on her own.

Fortunately, she had a simple method: she committed Zhou Yang's words to memory again and again, intending to ask him about them in detail when she had the chance.

Before long, Zhou Yang had finished explaining the draft.

He asked Ding Ling, "How much did you remember?"

Ding Ling was silent for a moment, then said hesitantly, "I remembered all of it."

Whoa-

Zhou Yang exclaimed inwardly, then asked Ding Ling, "Which gate is the Gate of Obstruction in the draft?

"What does the Gate of Obstruction represent?

"Which operatic imitation is combined with the Aversion-Making Art to cultivate the ghosts and gods of the Gate of Obstruction?"

"The Gate of Obstruction is the fifth of the Eight Gates.

"It is opposite the Gate of Opening and represents blockage and confinement, closure and exclusion.

"To imitate the 'The Boy Passes the Trial' scene in 'The Goddess's Vow,' you need to steal soil from the urn of a child who died in a yin year, yin month, and yin hour, or burn fragments of the child's bones. Mix that with the blood of an old hen that hasn't laid an egg for three years, and use it to paint the eyes and eyebrows of a paper child. That's how you practice Creating a Zhen..."

Ding Ling replied.

"What about the Gate of Death?" Zhou Yang asked again.

"The Gate of Death is opposite the Gate of Life. It is the seventh of the Eight Gates.

"Energies change: life comes in spring and death in autumn, so it is called the Gate of Death.

"Imitate the scene in 'The Yellow River Formation' where Shen Gongbao has his head cut off. You need to dress and make yourself up as Shen Gongbao in the opera..." Ding Ling answered without hesitation.

"Good!" Zhou Yang exclaimed in praise.

Ding Ling's face lit up at once.

Then she heard Zhou Yang add, "As for this Opera Communion with Spirits technique, you must never practice it on your own when I'm not present.

"This method requires contact with ghosts and gods, and may require some special protection.

"If you practice it directly without any protection, a ghost will very likely harm you."

That ghost candle might be necessary for practicing the "Draft of Divine Makeup and Ghost Painting."

It should be able to provide the practitioner with some protection.

And judging by the present situation, getting Chang Dafeng to hand over the draft had already been like carving flesh from his heart. There was no way he would share the ghost candle with Ding Ling.

Practicing the technique without the ghost candle's protection would inevitably be far more dangerous.

But when Chang Dafeng had threatened him and Ding Ling, he had unconsciously used the Opera Communion with Spirits technique-

With their combined Mindfulness of "7," he and Ding Ling had been able to remain calm even when Chang Dafeng suddenly took on a ghostly appearance.

The others, by contrast, had all gone pale with fright, and quite a few had even wet themselves.

Clearly, Mindfulness was extremely useful.

Zhou Yang had an intuition that, with his and Ding Ling's combined Mindfulness approaching the limit of a normal person's, they should be able to try practicing the draft's contents as well.

That was why he had given Ding Ling a special warning.

Everything had to be done while he was present.

After all, when he was absent, Ding Ling's Mindfulness was only "2."

Once he had guided Ding Ling through mastering the Gate of Opening in the "Draft of Divine Makeup and Ghost Painting," he would have a clearer idea of what to expect.

He could also try practicing the draft's contents himself in Guan Village.

"Mm!"

Zhou Yang had spoken seriously, and Ding Ling answered just as solemnly.

The night grew darker.

A single oil lamp was nowhere near enough to illuminate such heavy darkness.

The opera troupe gathered around the lamp.

Now and then, a burst of perfectly synchronized footsteps sounded outside, making the night feel deeper and the skin of everyone in the room prickle.

It was nearly the Zi hour. Were those still walking around outside really people?

"The people in the village are still in a state of soul loss and hysteria. That's why they stand in their own houses during the day and come out at night," Chang Dafeng said hoarsely. "They aren't very dangerous yet.

"Once the breath of life in them dissipates, they'll be dead.

"Death isn't frightening.

"What's frightening is that some people die, and some are clearly dead, their bodies already stinking and rotting, but somehow they come 'alive' again.

"The things that come alive again can't be called people.

"It's a Puppet."

"So while these people are still suffering from soul loss, at least we're safe. But don't provoke them without reason. Ghosts are unpredictable-I'm only speaking from experience passed down by our elders. There's no guarantee it's right.

"If I'm wrong, it's just a matter of a few words for me, but you could pay for it with your lives. Understand?"

Everyone nodded.

Chang Dafeng looked at Ding Ling and lowered his voice. "Ding Ling!"

Ding Ling immediately looked up at him.

He spoke slowly, enunciating each word clearly. "There's an old folk saying: 'Puppet-Thread Ghost Rhyme.' It means that threadlike energies come out of a puppet. They hold the puppet up, making it look like a puppet in a puppet show."

"But people can't see those energies with the naked eye. That's why you need to comb your hair before a mirror at midnight and use the spirit-channeling mirror to see what's in there.

"If the ghost in there has threads like the ones I described attached to its back, then it's a Puppet."

"If the energy around that ghost looks like the growth rings of a tree or ripples in water-in short, if it surrounds the thing in circles-then it's a ghost!

"That's the most important point. You must tell them apart clearly, remember what you see, and tell me!

"Don't let the ghost's appearance frighten you into forgetting everything!"

Ding Ling went over Chang Dafeng's words in her head, then immediately nodded and said clearly, "I remember it all!"

"Good. It's not just my life at stake here, anyway." Chang Dafeng snorted.

At that moment, Zhou Yang spoke through Ding Ling and asked him, "What if the ghost in the mirror has neither threads nor rippling Ghost Rhyme, then-"

"A ghost like that shouldn't appear in a place like this!"

Chang Dafeng's face visibly filled with terror. As if trying to stop Ding Ling from speaking, he hurriedly cut her off, his voice growing shrill with fear. "If a ghost like that were really here...

"We'd all have died long ago."