Chapter 48: Have That Soul Fly Away and Scatter In Complete Annihilation
"That's true…" Ye Hongyi strolled towards the Soul Sand tree Yao Mowan had pointed at and his eyes gradually turned cold. The stars of the White Tiger Mansion were categorized as general stars. As of now, a general star was flourishing but the emperor star was dimming. Could it be one of the generals in court harbored disloyalty? Who could it be? The first person that occurred to Ye Hongyi was Ye Junqing, however he quickly dismissed that idea. As of now, Ye Junqing couldn't be counted as a general anymore. Of the current generals in court, the person that possessed the most troops should be the Left General, Huan Heng. Could it be him?
"Your Majesty, you don't believe in Wan er's words?" Yao Mowan gave Ye Hongyi ample time to mull things over before advancing her plan. She was way too clear on how hard it had been for Ye Hongyi to obtain the throne. Hence, he naturally won't let off even a single person that might threaten his hold on imperial power. Based on her comprehension of Ye Hongyi's personality, Yao Mowan knew that someone was going to suffer misfortune. She smiled inwardly.
"Ah… no. Wan er said it very well, really! Looks like zhen's decision to bestow Soul Sand Garden to Wan er was right. Wan er has to promise zhen to keep a close eye on these trees. Wan er must tell zhen whenever one of these trees seem abnormal, alright?" Because of Yao Moxin, Ye Hongyi had absolute belief in the existence of astronomical phenomenons.
"En!" Yao Mowan knew that things would turn out like this. After all, back then, there had never been a single time the astronomical phenomenon she talked about was inaccurate.
Cai Ying took three days and finally found a prestigious Daoist priest. At this current moment, Yao Suluan was sizing up the Daoist priest in front of her. He had a white beard and silver hair with bones of the Dao and the wind of a celestial*. He seemed rather like he was about to ascend to heaven as a celestial.
仙风道骨 – “Wind of a celestial and bones of the Dao” The meaning is it describes a person’s strength of character (风骨 is where the wind bones came from) and spirit which stands out from the masses.
"Bai Mei kowtows in salute to imperial gui fei." The Daoist priest calling himself Bai Mei gently swept his horsetail whisk and placed his hands together as he greeted Yao Suluan respectfully.
"Great Master is being overly courteous. Cai Ying, see to his seat." Yao Suluan slightly nodded, then instructed Cai Ying to move a chair over.
"Deference is no substitute for obedience (said to accept someone's request, invitation, etc), so this humble Daoist will accept. Wonder what imperial gui fei has summoned this humble Daoist for?" Bai Mei slowly sat down. His gaze was as keen as a blade.
"Truth be told, ben gong has encountered some very abnormal phenomenons recently so ben gong wanted to ask Daoist Priest if people really became ghosts after dying." Yao Suluan would still feel uncomfortable from head to toe whenever she recalled that night's incident.
"If one desires to connect with God, once gold separates with water, one will be able to distinguish and see the three immortal souls and seven mortal souls one's body contains. Of the three immortal souls, one is named fetus light. It is the energy of the clear sun…" The Daoist priest started reciting but Yao Suluan interrupted him.
Comes from the collection of essays named Baopuzi. Separating gold from water is a very important process in Daoist cultivation. If one wants to complete the Golden Core stage of cultivation and move on to the Connecting with God stage, they must first complete the separation of gold and water. After this step is completed, one will be able to see the three immortal and seven mortal souls one has. One will also be able to see all the spirits in the sky and on the earth and be able to put to work the supernatural beings that exist in the mountains and creeks.
Lmao, I'm pretty confused too. This sounds rather xianxia novel-like. But it seems people actually believed this stuff in the past.
The three names of the three immortal souls are 'fetus light', 'clear spirit', and 'remote essence'. (胎光、爽灵、幽精)
"Ahem… Daoist Priest, can you put it a bit more simply? Ben gong is a little confused," said Yao Suluan in a mild tone as she suppressed her temper.T/N
"Oh, then that's easy. Of course people can become ghosts after they die," said Bai Mei after he gave a sigh.
"Uh… isn't this a little too simple? What ben gong wants to know is if an incident like a malicious spirit possessing people can occur. And… if it's a ghost that died due to injustice, would it come back to seek revenge?" Yao Suluan directed the conversation to the main point.
"This sort of situation does happen but not often. Most of the time, people would be led away by the ghosts of the nether world once they die, or they would reincarnate. Some that had accumulated a lot of good karma from meritorious deeds would become deities. There are some that fall to hell in eternal imprisonment. Of course, there are also those that suffered unusual grievances and their souls end up not dispersing after death but linger in the mortal world. These are the types that exist as lonely souls and wild ghosts. Most of the time, the spirits that harm people are the same type of ghost." Bai Mei's facial expression was solemn and he spoke as if it was very much in earnest.
"Then does Daoist Priest have a way to exorcise these wild ghosts?" Yao Suluan's heart trembled as she immediately concluded that the incident that day was Yao Moxin's ghost causing mischief.
"This humble Daoist often exorcists ghosts and goes so far as to say it is his forte! Naturally there is a way," said Bai Mei, lifting his brows as if he had a card up his sleeve.
"Wonder if Daoist Priest needs ben gong to provide any facilitations?" Yao Suluan asked impatiently with light dancing in her eyes.
"Imperial gui fei only needs to write down that person's birth date and eight characters for this humble Daoist and this humble Daoist will go prepare the spell. This humble Daoist ventures to ask how long has it been since the person imperial gui fei is talking about died? And where does imperial gui fei wish to send that ghost?" asked Bai Mei in deadly earnest.
"In two days is that person's seven seven. Cai Ying, bring ink and paper! If Daoist Priest can have that soul fly away and scatter in complete annihilation, ben gong will naturally give a substantial reward!" Yao Suluan said fiercely. The excitement in her eyes was easy to see.
"It's within their seven seven? Then the soul probably has not gone far. This humble Daoist can be quite certain of success if the spell is cast at the person's death site," said Bai Mei in a very profound way.
"Alright then, Daoist Priest, please go prepare. Ben gong will prepare the location for two days later." Yao Suluan, in passing, handed the paper she finished writing to Bai Mei before turning towards Cai Ying. Cai Ying handed the banknotes she had prepared in advance to Bai Mei before seeing him off.
Even after Cai Ying returned, Yao Suluan was still soaking in her excitement. She suddenly couldn't wait to see the scene of Yao Moxin's soul being scattered and destroyed. Just the thought of it made her extremely happy.
"Niang niang, you really plan to let that Daoist Priest carry out his spell in the former site of the Cold Palace? If someone saw, there's no way it can be passed off as a game," Cai Ying warned carefully after she returned to Yao Suluan's side.
"That place is remote from the start. Who would go there unless there was a reason? Not to mention, the spell will take place at night so it's even less likely for someone to show up there. Don't worry, ben gong is well aware of the situation!" Yao Suluan had already made her decision so she wrote off Cai Ying's concerns. Cai Ying knew that it would be useless even if she continued trying to persuade so she stopped speaking.
In Guan Osprey Palace, Yin Xue repeated everything she heard to Yao Mowan without missing a word.
"Haa, she doesn't even know to accumulate some more virtue for herself now that she is pregnant with a child. Tell Bai Mei that if he acts according to orders, there will definitely be plenty of benefits for him." Yao Mowan hugged Fluffy and stroked it. Her smooth nails which were painted with red cardamon contrasted with the snow-white fur on Fluffy's body and they set each other off nicely.
"Yin Xue understands."
"That's right, where has the Esteemed Prince been these last two days?" Even though Ye Hongyi didn't leave any traces, there existed no walls in the world that could block all wind. Ye Junqing was wise. After staying in the Imperial Palace for a while, he'd naturally discover clues.
"Replying Master, the Esteemed Prince strolls around the Imperial Garden during the day and would, after midnight, enter Changle Palace. He usually stays there until four in the morning before leaving," reported Yin Xue factually.
"Is that so. You can withdraw." Yao Mowan's eyes darkened and she stopped stroking Fluffy. Ye Junqing was even more devoted than she had expected. It was just, Junqing. In the end you still don't understand Moxin…
After Yin Xue withdrew, Ting Yue jogged into the living room.
"Niang niang, this servant encountered the Esteemed Prince outside earlier. He told this servant to bring the meal separately to his room from now on and that from today on, he doesn't want to eat at the same table as niang niang." Ting Yue repeated his exact words to Yao Mowan.
"Are you his palace maid?" asked Yao Mowan calmly.
"No." Ting Yue shook her head.
"Then who cares what he said? Help ben gong up, we're going to take a walk." Yao Mowan lifted her brows towards Ting Yue, then got up and walked out of Guan Osprey Palace.
The time when Ye Hongyi once again stepped into Pure Flowers Palace finally arrived for Yao Suluan.
"This qie kowtows in salute to Your Majesty." Yao Suluan waited at the palace entrance happily with a bit of anticipation in her eyes.
"Beloved consort is pregnant with the dragon seed, how can you be so careless? In the future, you are excused from these unnecessarily elaborate customs. Zhen's child is the most important." Ye Hongyi walked up and took Yao Suluan's hand into his palm with warm friendship spilling out of his eyes. Upon hearing this, Yao Suluan felt overwhelmed by favor and looked disbelievingly up at Ye Hongyi. At the side, An Bingshan was following angrily behind Ye Hongyi without speaking.
"It's rare for Your Majesty to care so much about this qie. This qie is grateful beyond words!" Yao Suluan was so moved hot tears swirled in the rims of her eyes and her voice choked with emotions.
"Zhen knows that you have felt wronged these last couple days. It was zhen's carelessness. Beloved consort, don't take it to heart. Zhen has simply been too vexed the last couple days." Ye Hongyi pulled Yao Suluan towards the table and gently patted her hand as endless tenderness spilled from his eyes.
"How could this qie dare? But if Your Majesty is vexed by something, there's no harm in telling this qie. It's no good to keep it suppressed in your heart," Yao Suluan said in a submissive soft voice.
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira, Proofread by Sonia
[Chiyomira’s Corner]T/N – "Ahem… Daoist Priest, can you put it a bit more simply?" for once I agree with Yao Suluan. Thank God, you wouldn't know how long it took to make sense of that passage. @And this is the bonus chapter for participating in the volare event!! Yup, the right answer is seven seven, thank you to everyone who participated!! XD
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