Chapter 12: The Divine Path and the Ghost Path
Seokheon let out a hollow laugh.
“Bindo only said that because his cultivation is shallow: he cannot reincarnate your four children’s souls, nor borrow corpses to return their souls. It is merely that cultivating by absorbing yin energy means you will inevitably have to perform blood nourishment in the future; there is a method to solve this problem.”
“Master, is it true? Didn’t you say that after cultivating with yin energy, if you wish to deepen your cultivation, you must eat?” Madam Bang asked.
“Yes, which is why you simply do not cultivate with yin energy.” Seokheon smiled and shook his head.
“But Master Seok, if you don’t cultivate yin energy, how can you maintain your physical form? Could it be… could it be what you pointed out earlier?” Madam Bang seemed to realize.
“Yes. You only need someone to perform memorial rites. Then you can be sustained by the votive power of incense.” Seokheon was relatively indifferent to human affairs, but he possessed some compassion.
Madam Bang was surprised and stammered.
“Then, then who would willingly perform memorial rites for us?” Finishing her words, she stared fixedly at Seokheon; since Seokheon had spoken thus, that person must have already thought it through.
Seokheon pointed at Xu Tianqi and said, “This senior brother of mine is a man of great enterprise. This time, he saved face thanks to you all, so naturally he must repay you. When the time comes, he will send people to personally perform the rites. Yes, performing rites three times a year should suffice.”
“But if something happens to this young master, or if he passes away in old age, or goes abroad and cannot supervise, then what if no one is left to perform the rites?” Madam Bang was relatively cautious about such an important matter.
Seokheon muttered for a moment before speaking. “Offer the merit of the memorial rites to a temple once every ten years. If so, build a temple yourself and dedicate it. Have the Xu family manage it from behind the scenes, and entrust the temple to monks or preachers. Give them the position of monk or preacher. I will give you a few more talismans, so if they forget, you can entreat them. Remind them through dreams that if arranged in this manner, many commoners will naturally come to perform rites and make prayers. Even if people forget, you can still enjoy the incense offerings, so do not worry.”
Madam Bang stood up, performed a graceful bow, and prostrated herself.
“The Master’s grace is something this Madam Bang will never forget in her lifetime. If there is any dispatch in the future, I will not hesitate through water or fire.”
Seokheon waved both hands and said, “Neither thank me nor decide yet; I must tell you the limits of these memorial rites. The rites can maintain your physical forms for no more than a hundred years. Even now, there are many people performing rites for you. The private rites you will be able to enjoy may only amount to twenty years. You must obtain a true cultivation method that allows you to cultivate directly using the votive power of incense. Only when many people perform rites for you can you transform from ghosts into gods, escape the hundred-year limit, and begin cultivating the Divine Path. If your divine merit is great later, there will be an opportunity to achieve the path of longevity.” Seokheon paused, then continued, “However, if you cultivate with yin energy and possess sufficient blood nourishment, you can continuously extend your lifespan once you break through the bottleneck, and in the end, there is a chance to achieve the Ghost, Primordial Spirit, and Longevity Grand Paths. It is merely much harder than normal cultivation.”
Madam Bang stood there, sinking into thought, weighing the gains and losses; knowing this, Seokheon did not rush her. After about half an hour, she turned to Seokheon once more.
Seokheon said, “Have you thought it through?”
Madam Bang spoke firmly: “I wish to walk the Divine Path. Although I lack a true cultivation method now, there are those who can perform rites, and after twenty years I can spend my days in peace. During that time, I can search for an elementary method. Even if I cannot find one, the Ghost Path is different and lacks true cultivation methods. Absorbing yin energy and cultivating instinctively, I would likely be unable to maintain my physical form before reaching a higher realm, let alone in the distant future. Moreover, there are matters in my heart that conflict with consuming blood nourishment.”
Seokheon smiled and said, “Since it has come to this, if I obtain a Divine Path cultivation method in the future, I will certainly pass it on to you. Don’t—don’t prostrate yourself yet. It won’t be too late even if you truly find it and do so then.”
Madam Bang, though halted, did not insist and sat down again. Now in good spirits, she smiled and said, “I have imposed on you for so long; I wonder if you have any orders.”
Seokheon shook his head and said, “I have nothing to command. However, rather than having the rites performed for you, I must wake the young master and speak before him. In any case, since he will be the one to arrange matters going forward, I must soon go out and travel.”
Seeing Madam Bang nod, Seokheon stood up and went to Xu Tianqi’s side. He squatted down, pinched his philtrum, and exhaled at the same time. Thanks to these two aids, Xu Tianqi woke up shortly after. Opening his eyes and seeing Seokheon before him, he asked with a bewildered expression, “Junior Brother Seok, what is the matter?”
As the memory of what had just happened returned, he suddenly leaped up like a carp. His face was pale, and he asked Seokheon in a trembling voice, “Junior Brother Seok, th-th-that woman, the ghost—you’ve already taken care of her, right?” At the same time, he looked left and right, and happened to see Madam Bang, neat in appearance and dressed as a noblewoman; he unconsciously blanked out. “Junior Brother, who is this lady? But you are the assistant I hired.”
Seokheon laughed heartily and said, “Senior Brother Xu, this is precisely the lady of the house, Madam Bang. You just suffered at her hands moments ago; how could you fail to recognize her in the blink of an eye?”
Hearing these words, cold sweat dripped from Xu Tianqi’s head, and his face turned completely pale. At this time, Madam Bang stood up and greeted Xu Tianqi. Xu Tianqi was startled, his eyes widening as he took three steps back. Then Madam Bang said, “Young Master Xu, this concubine committed many sins before, so please forgive me magnanimously.”
Seeing the female ghost behave so politely, Xu Tianqi’s terror greatly subsided. He turned his head to glance at Seokheon. Seokheon smiled at him and gestured, and his heart steadied. He cupped his hands in respect. “What fault does Madam Bang have? I was the one who trespassed into your house first.”
As soon as the words ended, the two siblings behind Madam Bang were making mischievous expressions at him. Their faces were blank, utterly devoid of features, forming mischievous expressions. He was so startled he nearly fainted again.
Seeing the situation, Madam Bang turned around and began to discipline the two children. Seokheon told Xu Tianqi about the matter of the memorial rites he had just arranged. Xu Tianqi received much praise. At the same time, since these three ghosts desired something from him, the feeling of fear had basically disappeared. With his fear gone, curiosity surged; he swept his eyes over the three—Madam Bang and her children—trying to spot what was different, and asked Seokheon about ghosts.
After the discussion, Xu Tianqi thumped his chest and guaranteed to the other party, “Madam Bang, rest assured. If you leave the memorial rites to the Xu family, they will not cease so long as the Xu family endures.” Madam Bang was so grateful that she had Deokrin and Hamryeong bow three times to Seokheon and Xu Tianqi.
The two parties then began to talk of the main topic and chat. Although Madam Bang was a noblewoman from a great house, she had been unable to communicate with people for many years; at this moment she seemed quite eloquent. Because Xu Tianqi and Seokheon were extremely curious about ghosts and asked about this and that, or occasionally told Madam Bang about the changes in the outside world, before they knew it, dawn was breaking.
Madam Bang heard the night watchman’s call outside and, seeing that it was growing late, said to Seokheon and Xu Tianqi, “The grace of you two… it is already approaching dawn. Though I can remain for another thirty minutes, you two seem to have matters to attend to, so I cannot detain you.” Finally, she cast a glance at Ha Munhwi, covered her mouth, and smiled.
Xu Tianqi suddenly realized. “Right, we need to leave these three fellows outside the house. Otherwise, what would have been the point of coming?”
Seokheon laughed upon hearing this and said, “Then you won’t know what to do when the three wake up. You can say you were frightened and lost them. Only, when they woke up early, they ran back inside.”
Xu Tianqi thought about it and agreed, cursing and swearing, “You cunning fellow, no wonder you made a bet with me. What do we do now? There isn’t any other evidence, right?”
Seokheon pouted his lips and said, “First, wake your dream lover. Just use her as a witness.”
“But she can’t prove that we weren’t scared either,” Xu Tianqi said helplessly.
“Hehe, the purpose of your bet was merely to save face in front of her. You waking her up now is a life-saving grace. If you hadn’t woken her, she might have been eaten by a ghost. Are you saying the grace of saving her life is important, or is putting on a bit of bravado in front of her important?” Seokheon said bluntly.
“Ah, the ghost ate her?” Xu Tianqi couldn’t quite recover.
Seokheon pointed at Madam Bang and said, “In any case, she was dizzy and wouldn’t have known whether this ghost was good or fierce.”
Xu Tianqi gave an excited high-five. “Great idea!”
Seeing that she herself was unharmed, Madam Bang pulled the two children along to bow, then suddenly vanished; Xu Tianqi’s eyes nearly popped out. Only after a long while did he mumble to Seokheon, “Junior Brother Seok, I wish I had such an easy skill.”
“This is by no means an easy skill. It’s merely an illusion art. You didn’t properly learn the Dao arts back then; now you know you’ve suffered losses, don’t you?”
“Hehe, I couldn’t concentrate anyway. This time when I go back, the Dao arts are so incredible. Come, let’s handle this matter first and then talk.”
The two first dragged Ha Munhwi and the other two outside the house and threw them into a nearby alley.
Seokheon said to Xu Tianqi, “The seals I placed will probably break on their own in about an hour. There are always drunkards and beggars spending the night here. Though there is no one now, there won’t be great danger. They should be carrying plenty of money on them.”
Xu Tianqi smiled and said, “They were frightened by ghosts and abandoned here, but it’s none of our business.”
After taking two steps, he suddenly turned around; his face showed a complicated expression as he stared blankly at the three, at Ha Munhwi and the others.
Seokheon stood silently by his side, watching without making a sound. After a long while, Xu Tianqi made up his mind. He squatted down and struck each one’s palm once at the dantian, a lethal vital point. Then he stood up and said to Seokheon, “These two are full of wicked deeds. I am merely abolishing their martial arts and treating them mercifully. That way they can live out their remaining years without running errands for the Ha family and spend their old age in peace.”
Seokheon thought that the latter part was the reason he had taken action.
“That demon probably won’t abandon martial arts. Aren’t you afraid of the Ha family’s revenge?”
Xu Tianqi said with a solemn expression, “After all, there is no one who can be certain that this was not the doing of demons. They are merely two elders. The Ha family won’t lose face. The Ha family does not have many such near-first-class experts, but neither do they have few. And… hehe, we all have business to conduct together. That’s why I didn’t touch that Ha Munhwi fellow. As for personal revenge, I’ll be staying at home during this time, so trust me. I won’t let them push me around. After I return upstairs, when I go out, even if I can’t win, I’ll be able to flee.”