"Soul, return! Soul, return!"
In the stillness of midnight, the mournful chant echoed through the darkness.
The maid was an odd one.
At first, she trembled with fear, but as she kept chanting, she grew accustomed, her fear fading. Memories of the mistress's kindness before her coma stirred sadness within her.
Her voice, now laced with sobs, sent chills down the spines of the servants.
Wang Daoxuan, his face grave, took several small oil lamps, lighting them one by one, placing them from the courtyard gate to the comatose woman's bedside, ending with one at her head…
Li Yan observed silently, not daring to speak.
They had an agreement.
Wang would help him visualize and build a mental palace, while Li Yan would partner with him, using his divine sense of smell to secure big jobs, earn money, and lift Wang from his plight.
Wang would also teach him mystic ways.
Mystic arts seemed complex but followed a clear process.
In ancient times, disasters abounded, and evil entities roamed.
Facing a mysterious, unknown world, people sought patterns.
They observed lightning striking trees, discovering fire's power…
They watched seasons cycle and stars shift, creating calendars…
The mystic world was the same, though more esoteric, ultimately about finding rules to handle events beyond ordinary perception.
It boiled down to three steps: omens, taboos, and rituals.
Omens involved deducing causes from phenomena and divine senses.
This birthed various divination methods.
Taboos were the event's traits, with two approaches.
First, follow taboo rules to avoid disaster.
For instance, don't whistle at night. Some could whistle safely, but those with awakened tongue divine powers, or ordinary folk in yin-baleful places, might attract evil by whistling.
Other taboos included not pointing at idols, not turning back when called at night, and rules for weddings and funerals.
Passed down over time, these became known taboos.
Avoiding them usually prevented trouble.
If unavoidable, rituals were performed to resolve it.
These three steps were the foundation, from which all mystic arts evolved, creating the diverse mystic world of today.
Wang's earlier burning of hair ash was a simple divination.
It located the living soul for the soul-calling.
The next step was, after the soul returned, performing a ritual with soul-stabilizing chants to prevent it from wandering again.
Wang's minor yin soldier could have found it easily, but risking scattering the soul was akin to murder, so he chose this gentler method.
Li Yan's task was to use his sense of smell to detect the soul's movement, alerting Wang to avoid missing the stabilizing moment, ensuring the ritual's success.
Among the six yang divine powers, each had strengths.
For clarity, the yin-yang eyes were best, seeing all in their gaze. Geomancers with this power could spot qi from afar; priests could target evil precisely…
For wonder, the mind's spirit root was unmatched. Mediums, shamans, and underworld walkers could commune with spirits from home…
For searching, the nose's spirit root excelled. A skilled sniff could detect anomalies miles away, sharper than a dog's nose.
Li Yan, however, was frustrated.
With all idlers cleared from the Lu mansion, he'd roamed it under the guise of warding evil, holding a willow branch.
Yet he couldn't catch that sweet scent from that night.
What was that treasure?
Was it hidden in Master Lu's vault?
As he pondered, a stir came from afar.
The maid stood on the rooftop, shaking the soul-calling banner, chanting for half an hour, her voice hoarse.
Her fear gone, doubt crept in.
Was the master duped by a fraud?
Then a yin wind blew, chilling her spine, as if something appeared behind her.
The sensation was stark.
Her hair stood on end, goosebumps rising.
Panicking, she nearly screamed but recalled Wang's instructions, shutting her eyes and chanting, her voice trembling.
In the quiet night, her altered tone caught the attention of the two in the courtyard.
Li Yan inhaled deeply, catching a faint scent.
Cold, but unlike the Ghost Soldier's bloody reek.
"It's here!"
He nodded to Wang, whispering.
Wang grabbed a bowl of water from the altar, chanting a spell while stepping in a pattern—forward one, left back one, right two steps…
Li Yan watched intently.
This was the stellar step, paired with chants and the altar to cast spells.
Each lineage had its version, varying in skill. Wang said high-level practitioners could step the stellar pattern, commune with star gods, channel innate stellar qi, and wield it in spells.
It sounded like myth.
As Wang performed, Li Yan sensed a change.
A unique scent rose around the altar, warm, enveloping it like a whole.
Stellar qi!
Li Yan knew what it was.
Wang, now in the zone, held the water bowl, chanted, took a sip, and sprayed it out.
*Pfft!*
The mist surged, landing on the wooden fish.
As if wind and water stirred, the altar's stellar qi swirled around it.
Wang set down the bowl and struck the wooden fish.
*Thok! Thok! Thok!*
The sound rang in the night, oddly calming.
Li Yan smelled the stellar qi encircling the altar, forming a whole, spreading with the wooden fish's rhythm.
The maid, hearing it, felt reprieved, stopped chanting, and shakily climbed down, carrying the banner.
Though a ladder was set, her panic and closed eyes made her unsteady.
*Thud!*
Halfway down, she tripped and fell, landing hard on her backside.
Quick-witted, she kept the banner raised, undamaged.
Ignoring the dirt, she stood, tears in her eyes, and ran to the back courtyard with the banner.
Thankfully, no voice called from behind.
In the dark courtyard, guided by faint moonlight and familiar terrain, she reached the back.
Seeing Wang's lit oil lamps, she relaxed, feeling the soul's journey was done.
Wang and Li Yan, however, gasped.
On the maid's banner stood a figure!
In the Central Plains, temple fairs had a "topping doll" custom.
Strong men wore iron frames, with children atop, painted and dressed as gods or historical figures, parading with the deity procession.
It was a folk ritual to entertain gods.
This scene was strikingly similar.
But the figure on the banner—an old woman in black, radiating yin qi, with a deathly pale face and empty black eyes—was terrifying.
A living soul visible to the naked eye was unthinkable.
The maid, relieved, noticed their gazes and sensed something amiss. Too scared to look up, she stammered, "M-Master…"
"Don't be afraid!"
Unsure of the cause, Wang knew a mistake now could be fatal.
Living souls were like timid rabbits, hiding in cracks by day, drawn to their bodies, appearing only at specific times.
If startled, they'd vanish to the wilds, nearly impossible to find.
If scared to dissipation, the mistress would die.
Wang didn't dare falter, slowing his speech and lowering his voice. "It's fine. Don't fear. Walk slowly to the room, don't let the guiding lamps go out."
"Mm."
The maid nodded, trembling as she carried the banner toward the room.
The mistress's soul on the banner grew denser with yin qi. The guiding lamps flickered, threatening to extinguish, making Wang's heart race.
Li Yan held his breath, watching.
Sensing a scent was one thing; seeing it was another.
Fortunately, the short distance passed without incident.
As the maid entered the room, the lamp by the mistress's bed flared up, and the soul vanished.
Wang looked to Li Yan.
Li Yan, focused, smelled the soul's cold scent now clinging to the mistress, fading gradually.
A sign of yin-yang harmony, balancing out.
Without speaking, he nodded to Wang.
Wang rushed into the room, red rope in hand, weaving it around the mistress in intricate patterns, swiftly tying a strange knot.
As he did, the bedside lamp flickered wildly.
Finally, trapping the soul, Wang unhooked a bell from his waist, shook it, and chanted:
"Supreme Stellar Platform, ceaseless in change, protect life and body, grant wisdom and calm, steady the mind, eternal three souls, no harm to the po, soul return to palace, po support the form…"
Though only at the first floor of cultivation, Wang's hard work showed. His chant flowed, entering a trance.
The voice carried a rhythmic, lingering tone.
As he chanted, the guiding lamp steadied.
Li Yan exhaled in relief.
Wang had said this signaled a successful soul-stabilizing.
The job was done. Wang could escape his troubles and focus on helping Li Yan visualize and build his mental palace, stepping into mystic cultivation.
*Whoosh!*
A yin wind blew.
Li Yan's eyes widened, scanning around.
That mysterious sweet scent had returned!
**(End of Chapter)**