The reason Ji San returned to the morgue during the day before was that it feared sunlight, and the morgue was filled with a heavy yin energy. There was no better place during the day than here.
But now, its baleful qi was out of control, and its spiritual consciousness was in chaos. It was impossible for it to come back on its own initiative.
However, now that Ji Xiaoqi was present, as Ji San's closest blood relative, the bond between the two might be able to suppress the baleful qi and guide Ji San back.
As soon as Shen Cuiyu said this, everyone looked at her in surprise.
"How are you going to do it?" a disciple couldn't help asking curiously.
"Perform the ritual on the altar."
Shen Cuiyu's tone was calm, as if she was talking about something as ordinary as could be.
But everyone was shocked when they heard this!
Performing the ritual on the altar was extremely complicated. One had to take a bath, burn incense, be familiar with the mental techniques, and connect with the spiritual qi between heaven and earth. Only those with rich experience and profound spiritual power could do it. How could an ordinary Taoist priest dare to attempt it easily?!
Shen Cuiyu, a Yellow-rank disciple, dared to make such bold remarks?!
"Perform the ritual on the altar?" Liu Ruyan's eyes sharpened. It seemed that she had finally found fault with Shen Cuiyu. The corner of her lips curled up in a sneer, and she raised her voice, saying, "Shen Cuiyu, are you joking? We came out this time for training. We traveled light. Where could we get so many magical tools, offerings, incense candles, and scriptures for you to perform the ritual on the altar? What's the difference between saying such empty words and not saying them at all?"
Hearing this, Shen Cuiyu just gave her a cold glance.
That look was extremely light, without any emotion, but it was like a cold stream of snow water, instantly making Liu Ruyan shiver. The sarcastic words she had prepared got stuck in her throat.
For some reason, Liu Ruyan suddenly felt a bit lacking in confidence. She forced herself to calm down and said, "... What, did I say something wrong?"
But Shen Cuiyu had already withdrawn her gaze and ignored her, as if she was just an unimportant noisy background.
It wasn't until the sky completely darkened and the night enveloped the surroundings.
Shen Cuiyu didn't prepare any complicated utensils. She only asked Old Man Guo for three most ordinary joss sticks and a small piece of worn-out cloth from Ji Xiaoqi's clothes.
She placed the cloth under the incense burner. With a slight movement of her fingertips, the three joss sticks ignited without fire. A thin but straight wisp of green smoke rose slowly, neither dispersing nor swaying, and went straight up into the night sky.
"Is... this your altar?" Someone stared blankly at this overly simple ceremony and couldn't help whispering, "This is too childish!"
"So what if it's simple?" Pei Yu's slow and steady voice sounded, with an unquestionable laziness. "As long as it works. It's better than some false and showy things."
Others didn't really care, but Liu Ruyan's face instantly stiffened and turned red.
Although he didn't name names, his words were like an invisible slap, hitting Liu Ruyan hard in the face!
Liu Ruyan glared at Shen Cuiyu's back unwillingly, but couldn't say a single word of refutation. She could only swallow her resentment.
But her gaze was still like a venomous snake, tightly wrapped around Shen Cuiyu and refusing to move away for a moment.
"A Cui, what should we do next?" Dongfang Xiao moved closer. His eyes were vigilant as he scanned the dark night around them. He lowered his voice and asked.
The three joss sticks were still burning quietly. But whether it was just Dongfang Xiao's illusion or not, he always felt that the burning speed of the incense was unusually fast, more than twice as fast as usual.
It was as if... there was something invisible in the dark, eagerly sucking in the incense qi.
"Next, we just wait." Shen Cuiyu's voice was still calm, showing no sign of waves.
Everyone was holding their breath and waiting on the open space outside the morgue at this moment. The night wind blew, bringing a chill.
Although everyone had doubts in their hearts about whether Shen Cuiyu's method would work, things had come to this point, and they could only treat a dead horse as a living one.
Zhong Shengwan glanced at Ji Xiaoqi, who was sitting upright beside him. The child still carried his shabby little backpack tightly on his back, as if it was some precious treasure. No matter who tried to persuade him, he refused to take it off for a moment. No one knew what was inside.
"Isn't it heavy carrying it all the time?" Zhong Shengwan never liked the noise and trouble of children. But Ji Xiaoqi in front of him was really pitiful and unusually quiet and well-behaved.
He unexpectedly showed a bit of patience and took the initiative to strike up a conversation.
Hearing this, Ji Xiaoqi just shook his head. Then he looked at Zhong Shengwan warily and quickly turned the backpack in the other direction. He hugged it tightly in his arms with his thin arms, looking as if he was afraid someone would snatch it away.
Zhong Shengwan: ...
Did he look like someone who would steal his shabby backpack?!
Zhong Shengwan had an expression as if he had swallowed a fly. He simply closed his eyes and refused to say another word.
Ji Xiaoqi didn't seem to notice that he had accidentally offended someone. He just subconsciously moved a little closer to Shen Cuiyu.
Smelling the faint, refreshing and reassuring aura on Shen Cuiyu's body, his tense little body seemed to relax a little. He wasn't as vigilant and afraid as before.
Pei Yu, who was standing quietly beside them, took all this in.
He noticed that Ji Xiaoqi seemed to have an extraordinary dependence and closeness to Shen Cuiyu.
Pei Yu wasn't surprised by this.
He had heard similar statements before - pure-hearted children and small animals were naturally inclined to get close to those with a clean and gentle aura.
Even he himself sometimes felt that the chaotic thoughts in his heart gradually settled down and became peaceful when he was beside Shen Cuiyu. This feeling was very novel to him, but... not unpleasant.
Everyone waited for a while. By the time only a small stub of the joss stick was left and the incense head was flickering, the surroundings were still dead silent. There was not even a shadow of the so-called "baleful spirit".
The night was as thick as ink. Only the moonlight shone through the treetops, casting mottled shadows on the ground, making it even more desolate.
The disciples were a bit tired and impatient at this moment. Someone whispered in a low voice, "The incense is almost burnt out... Will Ji San really be summoned?"
"It's simply impossible!" Another person sneered in agreement. "Do you really believe that three lousy joss sticks and a piece of ragged cloth can summon back the out-of-control baleful spirit? If it can, I'll call Shen Cuiyu 'grandma'!"
Shen Cuiyu heard these words and the corner of her mouth curved up imperceptibly.
Just then, Ji Xiaoqi, who had been sitting quietly beside Shen Cuiyu, suddenly gently tugged at her sleeve. A look of embarrassment and urgency appeared on his little face, and his voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "Sister... I... I need to go to the toilet."
After all, Ji Xiaoqi was a half-grown boy. It would be inconvenient for Shen Cuiyu to accompany him personally. Seeing this, Dongfang Xiao stepped forward actively and said in a loud voice,
"Kid, what are you afraid of? Come on, I'll go with you!"
Looking at Dongfang Xiao, who was tall and imposing and had a booming voice, Ji Xiaoqi actually shivered and subconsciously shrank behind Shen Cuiyu.
But Shen Cuiyu's gaze was still fixed on the joss stick that was about to burn out. Her eyes were deep, as if she could see something through the wisp of green smoke that was about to break.