I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 175 - 148: Witchcraft (2)

Sang Que often watched horror films with Jiang Zao and listened to many folk horror stories from Jiang Zao, so she was certainly familiar with the practice of balancing chopsticks in a bowl.

Seeing Sang Que nod, Yu Da continued to lead the way and said, "This ghost-exorcism witchcraft is called ’Sending the Head’ and is very effective against ordinary evil spirits without harming people. During the ritual, if someone in the house is possessed by an evil spirit and is either unconscious, babbling nonsense, or laughing hysterically, a bowl of water is placed above the sick person’s head and filled with clear water."

"Then, a pair of chopsticks is used, with one laid horizontally in the center of the bowl and the other standing upright in the water against the horizontal chopstick, while chanting the names of various evil spirits. Once the chopstick stands firm, it is believed that the named evil spirit is the one causing trouble. At this moment, you softly plead for forgiveness from the evil spirit, promising sacrifices and fulfilling conditions. Then, the chopsticks are collected, the bowl of water is taken outside and splashed in the distance, signifying the evil spirit has been sent out of the house."

Sang Que secretly took note, finding it quite similar to what she had learned in modern times. She then asked, "What if you call the wrong evil spirit’s name and attract others?"

After exiting the western side of the city and walking on the main road towards the east, more pedestrians began to appear, and many recognized Yu Da, greeting him as they passed, including clerks and shopkeepers who would come out especially to wave and smile at Yu Da.

Sang Que noticed that Yu Da was particularly well-liked in Wangshan City.

Yu Da continued to nod at people along the way, slowly explaining to Sang Que, "This is indeed a problem. Some evil spirits wouldn’t appear, but if someone calls their name, especially at night, they are more likely to be attracted. There is also a divining witchcraft to determine what kind of evil spirit is possessing someone, called the ’Over Yin Skill.’"

"The method and materials needed are still simple. A piece of cloth from the possessed person’s clothing is placed over their face, then a few grains of rice from their home are chewed dry in the mouth. When you taste the smoke, it means the Yin has arrived to help. Then, burn three pieces of paper and insert one incense stick."

"Take a mouthful of water, stomp your feet and chant witch words while the Yin helps to investigate which kind of evil spirit is causing trouble in the household. When the incense burns out, spray the water in your mouth over the paper ash to send the Yin away, and the evil spirit’s general appearance will show in the ash. In this way, you can accurately determine which kind of evil spirit is possessing someone and then use the ’Sending the Head’ method to send it away."

Sang Que listened attentively; Yu Da was indeed experienced in this field.

Imagine, for a Day Traveling Envoy of Second or Third Layer strength capable of killing at will, encountering an instance of possession and cutting down both the evil spirit and the person is the most time-saving and labor-saving method.

There are no complicated rituals, nor is there a need for sacrifices and fulfilling wishes afterward.

But there are certainly disadvantages; if not handled cleanly, it only angers the evil spirit and brings about worse retaliation.

Yu Da’s method is a bit troublesome, but it can save lives and earn gratitude, which turns into incense offerings.

Moreover, once the evil spirits are satisfied, they won’t retaliate.

Sang Que felt she could first ’reason with them’ using Yu Da’s method, and if the evil spirits and ghosts didn’t listen, she knew a bit about ’fisticuffs’ too.

Yu Da continued, "Most witchcrafts for exorcising ghosts use naturally found objects such as peach wood, reeds, brambles, mulberry wood, white grass, orchid water, mugwort, dogwood, etc., from trees and flowers."

"Among animals, there are chickens, dogs, cattle, and sheep. In addition to these, some filthy objects like ashes, stones, firecrackers, and the five grains also have exorcising effects. I suddenly remembered a small witchcraft—have you ever encountered a Begging Hungry Evil, appearing at the door on overcast days with a foul-smelling wind while holding a broken bowl?"

"If you give this Hungry Evil food, it will frequently visit. If you don’t give food, it will harm you with its foul wind, making you sick. For ordinary people, there’s a simple method: throw a shoe into the Hungry Evil’s broken bowl and then disperse it with peach wood."

"This is also a sort of simple witchcraft; you can perform it with just a shoe and peach wood. Unfortunately, to prevent evil spirits and ghosts from becoming strong from hearsay, many things can’t be documented, leading to the gradual loss of these simple, effective witchcrafts..."

Yu Da, combining various examples along the way, spoke as Sang Que listened with great interest—much more engaging and practical than the lessons she had in school.

However, listening to Yu Da’s words suddenly sparked Sang Que’s interest in the history related to witchcraft in modern times. She wanted to look it up the next time she returned to see if both worlds had any commonalities in this regard.

Soon, the sound of firecrackers from the front drew Sang Que’s attention.

She saw a large house by the roadside decorated with lights and festive decorations, firecrackers were going off one after another, and many people were gathered on the street. The butler and servants of the mansion were handing out red envelopes to passersby with great joy.

The butler, seeing Yu Da from afar, immediately pushed through the crowd to greet him.

"Old Yu, just in time! Come, come, come, join in the celebration."

The butler took out two red envelopes, giving one to Yu Da and one to Sang Que.

"Old Yu, who is this?"

"I’ve taken on a little apprentice."

"Oh my, congratulations to you."

After receiving it, Sang Que watched as the passersby opened their red envelopes directly, so she opened hers to look.

Inside was a Copper Coin, but unlike the regular circulating Copper Coins, one side had the designs of stars, swords, turtles, and snakes, and the other side had the words ’Exorcise Evil Spirits.’

"... You go ahead and stay busy, we still have to patrol the streets."

The butler nodded and left, and Yu Da glanced at the coin in Sang Que’s hand, explaining, "This is a Yansheng coin."

Sang Que’s heart skipped a beat, and the Copper Coin almost slipped from her hand.

"Coins can connect to gods and command ghosts. The Taoist Sect often uses Copper Coins as Magic Artifacts. In witchcraft, there is also the practice of casting Yansheng coins as objects for blessing and suppressing evil spirits. Families with joyous events typically cast these coins to distribute to passersby as a form of blessing. These Yansheng coins can be saved until New Year’s Eve for children as protective money."

"Oh, and there’s a small method for disaster prevention: use twenty-eight Yansheng coins collected from various places, place them at the four corners of the bedroom to ward off calamities. It’s said that someone did this once, and later when their alley caught fire, although the entire alley was burned, when the fire reached their bedroom, wind and rain suddenly put it out, sparing them."

Sang Que put away the Copper Coin in her hand, "So can I ask them for twenty-seven more?"

Yu Da chuckled, "It only works if others give it to you willingly. If you beg for them, it won’t have the same effect. Come on, let’s go see the welcoming ceremony."

Yu Da led Sang Que to the front door of Landlord Zhang’s house, where Sang Que saw a bow and six arrows bound with a red string hanging on the left side of the entrance.

After the butler and the servants finished distributing the red envelopes, a Landlord with a handlebar mustache rode a horse out from an alley on the side, circled back to the front entrance, and dismounted.

Inside the main entrance of the mansion, a richly dressed woman, with a headband for wind protection and showing signs of having been in confinement, stood with a nanny behind her, holding a swaddled child. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

At this moment, Sang Que sensed some dark shadows around the swaddled child—not very clear, but decidedly unsettling.

Landlord Zhang walked to the left side of the main entrance, took down the bow and arrows, and shot them in the four directions of heaven and earth.

"The mulberry bow and reed arrow, born from primordial times, protect all male affairs in the four directions, and may my son be guarded by the Ghost God of the four directions!"

As the arrows were shot, the child in the swaddle suddenly cried out, and the surrounding dark shadows dissipated like smoke.

Landlord Zhang handed the bow to the butler and stepped forward to pick up the swaddled child.

Standing at the back of the crowd, Yu Da explained to Sang Que, "That bow is made of mulberry wood and the arrows of reed grass. The welcoming ceremony involves hanging a bow and arrows on the left side of the main entrance when a child is born. Three days after the child’s birth, the father shoots arrows to dispel evil in the four directions. "

"Compared to merely writing a Life Scroll, a grand welcoming ceremony grants the child stronger protection, ensuring they grow up smoothly with less chance of being disturbed by evil spirits."

"Evil ghosts, too, bully the weak and fear the strong, the more grandiose the ceremony or ritual, the less likely they are to appear."

Sang Que suddenly felt like taking out her grass-paper notebook to jot down notes. Old Yu, just this morning, imparted so much knowledge that she worried she wouldn’t remember it all.

"Old Yu! Old Yu! Finally found you!"

A White Servant came running over, out of breath.

"Something happened over at Horse Hoof Alley; everyone in the alley is unconscious and not waking up. We can’t figure out the cause, you better come and take a look."