Old Wang's face turned ashen as the funeral dirge rose and fell, a spectral noose around our necks. I never guessed Zhou Jianguo had transformed the temple into a ghost shrine—similar to haunted houses but cursing an entire clan, not just a family. The temple's coffin - like shape (wide front, narrow back) sealed Zhoujiazhuang's doom. We were his chosen scapegoats: he, a half - baked Taoist; me, a green - horned feng shui master.
"Our only hope is the Ghost - Barrier Formation at the main door," I sighed. "If the yin road opens, 怨魂 (grudge spirits) will tear us apart."
Old Wang snorted, "I've spent my life killing ghosts—bring them on."
I forced a smile, not crushing his spirit. All exorcism relied on yang energy, and with two of his three yang fires extinguished, he was bait for fiends.
As the moon broke through the clouds, its light spilled over the temple. Main hall pillars showed dragons, phoenixes, lions, tigers; beams hung with cloud carvings, lantern hooks shaped like peacocks. The soul - guiding lamp glowed brighter in the moonlight.
I braced myself. When the suona stopped, a booming voice shouted:
"Heaven has laws, earth has spirits;
Ghosts reap lives, fates end swiftly.
Yang lifespan spent, netherworld fiends come—
It's time! Reap what you've sown! Reap what you've sown! Reap what you've sown!"
Three cries of "retribution"—Zhou Jianguo was activating the nine formations. Though I'd broken most, our life talismans still bound us. This trap wasn't just for us—it targeted the entire village.
Ancestral tablets behind us toppled, solid wood exploding with cracks. Eerie wails echoed as the main door slammed. With the dirge ended, our funerals had begun.
The Seven - Death Coffins sealed by Five Emperors Coins trembled. Each tablet's shatter meant a Zhou ancestor's soul was torn asunder. Zhou Jianguo wasn't just holding a living funeral—he was mourning the dead again, condemning them to eternal damnation.
"Damn it," Old Wang cursed. "I have a bad feeling."
"Ghosts crowd the gate—pray the barrier holds. At dawn, we can turn the tables."
But Zhou Jianguo gave us no chance. A five - year - old ghost boy sprang from the rafters, agile as a martial artist in a film. "He's raising child ghosts!" Old Wang yelled.
Child ghost rearing thrived in Indochina, especially Siam (now Thailand), evolving from sorcery in China's Yunnan and Sichuan. Merging with local witchcraft and Brahmanism, it became headhunting ghost - raising, a form of black magic. Here's how it works:
Child Ghost Cultivation:
选材 (Material Selection): A sorcerer picks two recently deceased children (under 10). Moral practitioners buy bodies from poor families; evil ones grave - rob.炼尸油 (Refining Corpse Oil): With burning candles, the sorcerer drips oil from the children's chins into a bowl, then 祭练 (ritually cultivates) the oil 24/7.制鬼棺 (Making Ghost Coffins): A 15cm wooden coffin holds yin - yang tree carvings (black and white child figures). After 98 days of incantations, the oil is poured in, and curses continue daily.成鬼 (Completion): When white smoke emerges from the coffin (3 - 7 days later), the ghost is ready to serve—stealing fortunes, enchanting lovers, satisfying the sorcerer's desires.
Completed child ghosts bring wealth to gamblers, seduce victims for their masters, and sustain evil practitioners with young followers.