This Taoist Master is too Frivolous

Upon hearing this, Wan Qian and her uncle were first taken aback and then felt goosebumps all over their bodies, shivering in the coldness and their scalps tingling.

“This… this…”

That man was clearly afraid, but this was something he could not say… so after hesitating for a moment, he asked, “Why do we have to pull the curtains?”

“Your father’s soul is too weak; once exposed to sunlight, it might disappear.”

Xu Yang instructed, “Dr. Wan, go and move that painting with the words.”

Wan Qian was about to go to the study to fetch the painting.

The man stood up and said, “Niece, don’t worry… this is important, so we should wait for your parents to come back and then invite the old man out together.”

He stopped Wan Qian.

He approached Xu Yang and extended his hand, awkwardly laughing, “Master Xu, right? My name is Wan Baolu, and 1 work in media. Nice to meet you!”

He had lowered his stance.

Xu Yang naturally had to give some face and shook hands with Wan Baolu immediately.

“Sit!”

“Master Xu, please have a seat!”

“Niece… don’t you want to make tea for Master Xu?”

Wan Baolu’s attitude changed dramatically. He took out Chinese cigarettes from the bag under the chair, handed one to Xu Yang with both hands, bowed to light it, and then said, “Master Xu, my niece told me that you run a funeral shop? It’s rare to see someone as young as you in this line of work.”

Xu Yang briefly explained, “It’s passed down through my family.”

“By the way, Master Xu… what’s going on with my grandfather?”

Wan Baolu asked cautiously, and while speaking, he even took a sneak peek at the study.

Xu Yang pondered for a moment, saying, “According to folklore, during the deceased’s memorial day, the dead soul returns home for a day, and the younger generation would set a feast offering or go to sweep the graves, burn paper money… The Hui ethnic group even would slaughter animals, fry fragrant oil, and invite A Hong to chant.”

“According to the Hui ethnic group, after a person dies, their ghost enters the Underworld Palace where the Judge evaluates their good and evil deeds in their lifetime. If they have done evil, they would have to endure punishment, such as climbing a mountain of knives, entering a pot of boiling oil, or passing through a sea of fire… They slaughter animals to atone for the deceased’s sins and bear their penalties.”

“Wasn’t it your grandfather’s memorial day a few days ago?”

“So, it’s normal that he came back for a day… it’s just that he hasn’t left after he arrived, probably because he still has unfinished wishes.”

Wan Baolu shrank his neck, “Then… what does the old man want?”

“How would 1 know?”

Xu Yang said, “Once the old man comes out later, why don’t you just ask him yourself?”

Wan Baolu:

He scratched his head and bitterly smiled, “My grandfather had a brain hemorrhage back then. He passed away suddenly… He was dancing in the square in the morning, and after a stroll at noon, he collapsed and never woke up.”

“When it happened, I was out of town, and when I rushed back, my grandfather was already in the coffin… To be honest, I’ve been thinking about my grandfather these years and even imagined that he would come back to see us… But now that I’m about to see him, I can’t help feeling a little scared.”

“This is human nature, understandable.”

Xu Yang understood Wan Baolu and Wan Qian’s feelings, comforting them, “This is mainly because you’ve never seen a ghost, nor have you dealt with them… If you’ve seen more, you’ll find that ghosts are not that scary.”

“On the contrary, most ghosts are very timid.”

“When I put my Thousand-year-old Thunderstruck Peachwood Sword on their foreheads, they would want to kneel down and sing ‘conquer’ to me!”

Wan Baolu and Wan Qian looked at each other, their faces full of disbelief.

Silver City was not far from Wu City, and when they left their funeral shop, Xu Yang had Wan Qian inform her parents.

It didn’t take long before Wan Qian’s parents arrived.

They reacted the same way as Wan Baolu, questioning Xu Yang as soon as they entered the house.

Xu Yang didn’t bother explaining, saying instead, “Dr. Wan, go and take down the painting.”

Wan Qian had witnessed Yang Yin removing her own head at the funeral shop, so she naturally had full trust in Xu Yang. She went to the study, took down the painting, carefully rolled it up, and brought it out.

Xu Yang took the painting, flicked his hand.

Swoosh!

The painting unfolded.

Perhaps because they had drawn the curtains and there was no light in the room, the wisp of Yin energy in the painting flew out on its own.

However, the four members of the Wan family couldn’t see this scene.

Xu Yang didn’t open their “Heavenly Eye”, but said with a smile, “Old man, 1 know you have unfinished wishes…now that your son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter are here…come out and meet them.”

But the wisp of Yin energy was too weak.

Forget about manifesting himself.

He couldn’t even transform into a “human form.”

“Old man, sorry for the offense!”

Xu Yang muttered something, then reached out and grabbed the strand of Yin energy, inserting it directly into a paper effigy he had placed on the ground in advance.

After that.

He circulated his magical powers.

Reaching out to touch the effigy, his magical power flowed into it.

In an instant, the weak Yin energy started to strengthen, and suddenly, a gust of Yin wind swept through the room, with a whistling sound.

The four people of the Wan family were all shocked when they saw this scene.

Especially Wan Qian’s parents.

As people’s teachers, they had been teaching for decades and were instilled with the concept that “feudal superstition harms people” since they were young. Now, seeing this scene was no different than seeing Wan Qian at the funeral parlor.

They were dumbfounded and felt their worldview collapsing.

They stared closely at the effigy without blinking.

Then they saw…

A mist rising from the effigy.

Its face, which appeared like rippling water, gradually transformed into an old, familiar face.

Wan Qian’s parents: “Dad?”

Wan Qian: “Grandpa?”

And Wan Baolu had the most enthusiastic reaction.

He was rebellious and used to argue with the old man all the time, going away on business for several years without returning home… and when he finally rushed back, all he saw was a cold corpse!

At this moment, upon seeing the old man’s face, he immediately knelt down and burst into tears, exclaiming, “Dad… Dad…”

On the effigy’s face.

The old man seemed a bit confused at first.

Gradually, he became normal.

Seeing Wan Baolu kneeling before him, he raised his eyebrows and scolded angrily, “You son of a bitch, you finally know how to come back, huh? Just look at what you are wearing! You look as fancy as a street rat!”

The Wu City dialect swearing poured out from the old man’s mouth.

The atmosphere that was just full of sorrow suddenly froze. Wan Baolu was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter… even snorting snot out of his nose!

He wiped his snot and tears, crying and laughing, “Dad, you’re already dead, yet you’re still scolding people like that?”

Knowing that the family wanted to catch up,

Xu Yang wouldn’t get in the way.

He went out, downstairs, sat in the pavilion, and started smoking a cigarette.

He returned to Wan Qian’s house after about half an hour and asked, “Old man, have you said everything you want to say?”

“Your soul is too weak, and 1 have to augment it with my magical power for you to manifest. If it takes too long, it will hurt your soul.”

At this moment.

All four members of the Wan family had red-rimmed eyes.

The old man also got to know Xu Yang and said, “Master Xu, thank you…

Otherwise, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have a chance to see my family again… Now that my wish is fulfilled, it’s time for me to leave.”

Saying this.

The face on the effigy gradually began to fade.

Naturally, the four members of the Wan family couldn’t help but cry out in agony.

“Alright, alright, stop crying, remember what I said… And you, my son, you’re almost forty years old; you’d better find a widow to settle down with.”

With a grumbling tone, the old man gradually disappeared, turning back into a strand of Yin energy and entering the calligraphy painting.

When the Wan family finished crying, Xu Yang finally asked, “Everyone, stop crying for now… Let’s discuss how to deal with the old man.”

“Deal with him?”

The four people looked puzzled.

Xu Yang continued, “Your old man’s soul is too weak and cannot stay in the mortal world for too long, otherwise it risks being dispersed… of course, if you want to keep him here, it’s not impossible, but it would be against the natural order and harm Yin virtue.”

PS: Some customs are difficult to find complete information on, so 1 apologize if there are any inaccuracies in my writing..