PCJ – Chapter 46 Shocked (Part 2)

　Zhang Jinghua then took some pieces of cloth and prayed: “Clear water, let the sun and moon shine, with the North Star hidden within, descending the Three Platforms, let the sacred water be sprinkled, troubles vanish and blessings come, purifying the heavens with one sprinkle, calming the earth with the second, ensuring longevity for people with the third, extinguishing ghosts with the fourth, the Five Dragon Law Water cleanses both inside and out, making homes radiant, silencing roosters’ crowing and dogs’ barking, ensuring cleanliness and tranquility.” Reciting the Forbidden Curse of the Purple Microstar: “In the heavens, decree the forbidding of the Purple Microstar, let the Purple Microstar God bring auspiciousness, inviting the Sun and Moon Star Gods, as well as the North and South Dipper Star Gods, to assist. This cloth is no ordinary cloth, transforming into five-colored auspicious clouds: the blue turns into blue clouds, the red into red clouds, the white into white clouds, the yellow into yellow clouds, and the black into black clouds. May these five-colored auspicious clouds cover his body. Passing the incense once, hiding the master, passing it twice, hiding the teacher, passing it thrice, personally hiding by the disciple.” Only then did he cover the forbidden jar with the pieces of cloth.

Next, he took a bunch of thread, prayed to the three masters, and recited the incantation: …

He tied the forbidden jar tightly with the thread. Then he brought a piece of tile, pressed it onto the cloth, transforming it into a thousand-catty heavy stone that no one could lift.

The final step was to hide the soul in the forbidden jar, guarding the Nine Provinces, while performing the Eight Trigrams Guarding Step and the Army Decision Seal with his hands and feet. He sprinkled the law water around the yard. At this point, Zhang Jiaohua finally stopped. The “Soul Chase and Forbidden Slashing” ritual was complete.

For Zhang Jiaohua at this stage, this ritual was still very strenuous. Although he had mastered it in his dreams, in reality, he had not truly practiced refining water, copying scriptures, or following his master to offer incense. He had no practical experience whatsoever. His situation was quite unique. Learning the methods in dreams seemed just as challenging as in reality, but it wasn’t the same as experiencing it firsthand. After completing the ritual, Zhang Jiaohua was physically and mentally exhausted. He was drenched in sweat from head to toe.

The Liu family members were still worried whether Zhang Jiaohua’s ritual would be effective. Although Liu Tongmao saw his grandson perform the ritual in a skilled manner, more sophisticated than any other ritual he had witnessed before, he couldn’t help but wonder about its effectiveness. After all, Guo Daogui had tried to help Xizi before. At that time, Guo Daogui’s method was quite ordinary and similar to the common rituals they knew. They went to the riverside, calling out Xizi’s name as they walked, while Guo Daogui shouted, “Have you returned?” Xizi would respond, “I have returned.” But it had no effect whatsoever. Now, his grandson’s ritual seemed much more advanced than Guo Daogui’s. But would it work?

Liu Biao stood by, afraid to even breathe loudly, fearing he might disturb the various gods summoned by his nephew. Now that his nephew’s ritual was over, Liu Biao anxiously glanced into the room, eager to see if there was any improvement in his son’s condition. Regardless of the outcome, his nephew had done his best. He could see how tired his nephew looked.

Zhang Youping and Liu Qiaoer looked at their son, enduring the difficult ritual until it was over. They wished they could take his place and complete the ritual themselves.

“Dad, Mom, I want to sleep,” Zhang Jiaohua completed the ritual, poured out the sacred water, and bid farewell to the various gods he had summoned. Then he sat on a stool and immediately fell asleep with his eyelids drooping.

“Jiaohua,” Liu Qiaoer rushed forward, picked up her son, and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead with her sleeve.

Zhang Youping also went over. He had strength but couldn’t help in any way, feeling a sense of extreme failure.

At that moment, Zhao Lanying, who had been sitting by the bedside, suddenly exclaimed, “Xizi, Xizi.”

Liu Tongmao and Liu Biao immediately changed color and hurried into the room.

“Mole, what’s wrong?” Liu Biao asked loudly.

Inside the room, Luo Dongzhen quickly replied, “Nothing, nothing. Xizi has woken up!”

“Xizi, how do you feel?” Liu Biao rushed into the room and asked anxiously.

Liu Xi opened his eyes and looked at Liu Biao. Although there was some fatigue in his eyes, there was also a hint of vitality. “Dad, I’m so tired. That person always makes me bathe on the Fengyu Bridge. Why didn’t you come to pick me up? “

Hearing this, Liu Qiaoye and Zhang Youping immediately looked at Jiaohua in Liu Qiaoye’s arms. Indeed, when he arrived, Jiaohua had indeed seen the soul of Liu Xizi. Such miraculous events actually existed in the world.

Luo Dongzhen quickly checked her grandson’s forehead and cheered, “The fever has subsided, Xizi’s fever has subsided!”

Hearing Luo Dongzhen’s words, Zhao Lanying also hurriedly felt Liu Xi’s forehead, her face showing a smile, “It’s really gone!”

“Yes, it’s gone. Do you know how much effort Jiaohua put in to make Xizi’s fever go down? Jiaohua is just a child. He exhausted all his strength to complete the ritual. Do you really think it’s so easy to summon gods? Back then, some people didn’t even think highly of Jiaohua.” Liu Biao’s words were full of disdain.

Zhao Lanying blushed with embarrassment, her face turning red.

“Biaozi, why do you speak like that?” Although Liu Qiaoye scolded her younger brother with her mouth, she couldn’t help but feel as if she had eaten honey, secretly thinking: You used to look down on our son, didn’t you? Let’s see how you, as an aunt, handle this situation.

Hearing Liu Qiaoye’s words, Zhao Lanying naturally understood the hidden meaning and hesitated for a moment, biting her lip, she looked at Zhang Jiaohua and said softly, “Jiaohua, Auntie was wrong before. Auntie apologizes to you. If Auntie does anything like before again, Auntie will crawl on the ground.”

Zhang Jiaohua took a rest, feeling a bit better. As a child, he naturally couldn’t handle such a situation. He didn’t know what to say. His stomach growled suddenly, having walked the night road all night and performed a ritual, both of which consumed a lot of energy. Now his stomach was empty.

Luo Dongzhen took advantage of this opportunity to defend her daughter-in-law, “Lanying, since Jiaohua is tired from staying up all night, why don’t you get him something to eat?”

“Yes, of course.” Zhao Lanying took the opportunity to step down, quickly fetched some snacks, and completely changed her attitude towards her nephew, “Jiaohua, have some snacks first to fill your stomach. I’ll go make something delicious.”

“Mom, I’m hungry too.” Liu Xizi slowly recovered and saw how good his cousin was being treated by his mother, giving away what originally belonged to him. He quickly asserted his presence, asserting his sovereignty.

Such childish thoughts couldn’t escape the eyes of adults.

Everyone chuckled. Zhao Lanying also said with a smile, “Xizi, eat together with your cousin.”

Liu Xizi looked at his mother in a daze, as if he didn’t recognize her: why are you adults acting like this? One moment, you tell me not to get too close to my cousin, and the next, you let me share candy with him. It’s really putting me in a dilemma.