This was a matter of immense gravity!
One must understand that the human body is governed by three hun souls. If there's a minor deficiency in po spirits, at most, it would lead to some hidden ailments.
However, if any one of the three hun souls is missing, the person would, at best, fall into an unconscious state; at worst, their physical body would wither away.
And since the soul is the root of the body, once the latter withers, the soul entity would completely become a lone wandering spirit. Furthermore, due to an incomplete soul, even if they were to enter the underworld for reincarnation, they would most likely be born mentally impaired, or suffer a premature birth or miscarriage.
Therefore, to put it bluntly, if the lost souls couldn't be recovered, it would be equivalent to cutting off their path to reincarnation.
"Yaoyao, did you figure anything out?" Gu Qiao, standing beside her, noticed his sister's grim expression, and his voice deepened slightly.
Ye Yan also looked over, full of anticipation.
"Yes!" Yaoyao retracted her gaze at this point. She looked at the two, saying in her childish voice, "Their bodies have no physical ailments. The reason they can't wake up is because their souls are lost."
"Lost... lost? How could this happen!" Ye Yan's expression stiffened. Although she was an ordinary person, she couldn't possibly be unaware of the common knowledge about the three hun souls and seven po spirits.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, can you tell me what exactly you encountered on the day of the incident? Try to mention anything strange or unusual." Yaoyao was quite curious as well.
After all, for normal people, their souls wouldn't easily leave their bodies unless they were impacted by something. And only Fourth Sister-in-law, as the person involved, could explain it clearly. Though Yaoyao had some suspicions, she still needed to verify them. The stranger, the better.
Ye Yan repeated Yaoyao's reminder, trying hard to recall and think. That day, after their field trip, the photography team invited everyone to the town's best restaurant for a big feast. Afterward, they went to the supermarket to buy some gifts for the hospitable villagers, to reciprocate their care over the past few days...
"This is all very normal," Ye Yan was about to say there was nothing unusual, but a scene suddenly flashed through her mind, and she paused.
"You thought of something?" Yaoyao observed her expression, her delicate eyebrows subconsciously rising slightly.
"Mhm..." Ye Yan nodded with difficulty, saying, "If you're asking about something unusual, there really is one thing: on our way back, we encountered two processions of red and white affairs."
The reason she hadn't remembered it immediately was mainly because she had been dozing off at the time, having pulled an all-nighter writing a manuscript the night before.
Later, when she woke up, her colleagues excitedly shared the story with her, describing it vividly. But Ye Yan herself hadn't seen it, and she didn't particularly believe in ghosts or deities, so she couldn't truly recreate the scene at the time. She simply dismissed it as a fresh piece of news and forgot about it.
"Is... is there any problem with that?" If Yaoyao hadn't reminded her, she really wouldn't have thought of this matter.
"Of course there's a problem, and it's a huge one." Yaoyao's small face instantly became serious, and a hint of solemnity spread across her dark, glistening eyes.
The so-called "red and white affairs" refer to marriage (red) and funeral processions (white). One is joyful, the other sorrowful. Encountering them separately usually isn't a major issue; people are happy to encounter the former for good luck, while encountering the latter is at most a bit inauspicious. However, encountering them together is problematic.
The Xuanmen ancient texts state, "Red doesn't see white," referring precisely to these two events. Their life destinies clash, and once they meet, they form an opposing malevolent force.
Those who witness it will feel a deep sense of unease. But if that were all, these people wouldn't have lost their souls. The only explanation is that what they encountered was not a living wraith's clash, but a dead wraith's clash.
Simply put, the hosts of both the red and white affairs were not human, but rather ghosts whose lifespans had not yet ended. If Yaoyao's guess wasn't wrong, the leader of the red affair was a bride who had died violently on her wedding night.
She died at the happiest moment of her life, and her resentment was extremely potent. Once she manifested, she became a Red Wraith. A 'wraith' is a type of ghostly entity one step higher than a fierce ghost; if it wills it, becoming a Ghost General is practically a certainty.
And the leader of the white affair was a water ghost. Normally, water ghosts cannot leave the place where they drowned, but nothing is absolute. Once they achieve great cultivation, they can use their malevolent energy to conjure a straw rain cloak and bamboo hat.
These two items can temporarily hold a water domain, allowing them to briefly carry a coffin ashore and directly seize living people as substitutes for death. At this point, such a water ghost is also called a White Wraith!
Both of them individually are extremely fierce. Once they encounter each other, the resulting 'red and white opposing malevolent forces' are so terrifying that ordinary Xuan masters would flee without hesitation, for failure to break the clash would mean death.
It is precisely because they are so malevolent that they are forbidden from reincarnation by heaven and earth. Their only way to be reborn is to capture substitute victims.
Clearly, the unconscious individuals on these beds are their intended substitute victims.
"Where did you encounter them?!" Yaoyao's voice held a hint of urgency. The trouble with this matter had already exceeded the scope of her initial assumptions. She deeply glanced at her Fourth Sister-in-law,
understanding that her escape was not solely due to the peace talisman. It was because she was asleep, and the peace talisman had concealed her aura, preventing the Red and White Wraiths from recognizing her as a living person.
The remaining individuals were not so lucky. They were seized by the water ghost and the bride. The former would be submerged into the water along with a coffin.
The latter would re-enact a wedding banquet, becoming a substitute bride. Although their processes differed, the outcome was the same: they would be transformed by malevolent energy, becoming new wraiths in their place.
And wraiths operate on a "one position for one entity" principle; only when a new one appears will heaven and earth revoke the old wraith's prohibition, and free from such shackles, they can then reincarnate. As for why all the victims were female? It's simple: because both wraiths were female, and when it comes to substitution, it's not a matter of simply seizing anyone.
"In Hefeng County, Huangya City, about 300 kilometers from the Imperial Capital." Seeing Yaoyao's grim expression, Ye Yan didn't dare to delay and quickly stated the location where the incident occurred.
Yaoyao, however, shook her head. It still wasn't specific enough. Unlike previous situations, these Red and White Wraiths were mobile, and their yin malevolence could interfere with divination. Even she would need to stand at the exact spot of their clash and use the lingering traces to pinpoint their location.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, I need you to come with me. I can't find them with such a vague description."
"Okay, I'll go with you." Ye Yan nodded without hesitation. She wanted more than anyone to save her colleagues. But seeing Yaoyao's face, the words "can they be saved?" got stuck in her throat.
"Without further ado, we'll leave now. Fourth Brother, I will light two longevity lamps for them."
"You must guard them and absolutely not let anyone blow them out." Yaoyao didn't ask her Fourth Brother to come along, not because she couldn't bring him, but because there was a more important task for him.
The two people on the bed were in a very critical condition, and she needed to light the lamps. This wouldn't prolong their lives, but it could temporarily prevent their remaining souls from being drawn out of their bodies. As long as the three hun souls and seven po spirits were not completely dispersed, there was still hope for salvation!
"Alright, Fourth Brother will listen to you." Gu Qiao knew that at this crucial moment, he couldn't be a hindrance. He nodded in agreement. Then, he instructed, "Please take good care of your Fourth Sister-in-law."
"Mhm, Fourth Brother, you can rest assured. I will bring Fourth Sister-in-law back in one piece." Yaoyao made a solemn promise. She was confident she could protect her.
Although the Red and White Wraiths were formidable, they weren't beyond her control. The reason for her grim expression was simply that this rescue would be very troublesome, and she utterly loathed trouble.
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