"Please, please save my son!"
Minister Liu and his wife were mortals after all. Before their son suffered from a strange illness, they were also skeptical about ghosts and gods and had never seen them with their own eyes. At that moment, they were anxious and uneasy. They knelt on the ground and prayed together, just like how they usually prayed for the blessings of those gods.
Based on what the two old people had seen, if his soul was gone, wouldn't he be dead? However, Yu'er's aura was still there. His body didn't rot or stink. It was as if he had fallen asleep and hadn't woken up.
Yun Su raised his hand slightly and helped the two of them up. Seeing that they had many doubts, he explained further.
"Generally speaking, humans have three souls and seven spirits. After death, the soul will indeed leave the body and turn into a ghost, returning to the netherworld to receive rewards or be punished for evil. However, when the soul leaves the body, humans might not necessarily die.
Your son's situation is exactly like this. His life force is not exhausted and his lifespan is not over. As long as we can find his lost soul, there is still hope."
Yun Su did not say anything more about the three souls and seven spirits, nor did he say that there was a spell on the body that blocked the outside world to prevent wandering ghosts from snatching this fresh and fragrant body.
There were traces of a spell, which naturally meant that a cultivator had once cast a spell on Liu Ruyu. Although the spell was not strong, as seen by how the talisman yesterday broke it, this matter involved a cultivator, so it was a little more complicated.
Back on Earth, Yun Su had once heard how people woke up from a nap, their entire bodies became extremely sore and their heads would hurt. Everyone would say that they had a strange dream last night and went to a faraway place. They would either linger in desolate graves or be trapped in a remote place. When they woke up, they would be seriously ill and would not be able to recover for at least ten days to half a month.
In the Great Cheng Dynasty, there were even more cases of lost souls. The Wang family's library recorded 76 cases of lost souls alone. Although most of them were rural legends or folk novels, Yun Su believed that most of them were true or derived from real lost souls.
"I see. Since there's still a chance of survival and his lifespan hasn't ended, please take pity on me. The Liu family has had only one heir for three generations. I will have no regrets about exhausting my family fortune for him."
"That won't be necessary. Minister, where did Mr. Liu go out for the last time?"
Yun Su first circulated his Dharmic powers and injected a trace of spiritual power into Liu Ruyu to protect his spirit platform.
After a round of searching last night by the ghost investigators, his body was also affected by the Yin wind. Compared to yesterday, his expression was even gloomier and there was a faint aura of death.
When the couple saw that the expert gradually expelled the death aura around his son and made his face turn red again with just a tap on the forehead, they were immediately shocked and thought that they had met a true expert. Naturally, they would tell him everything they knew.
"Before Ruyu fainted, he went to the Hundred Flowers Valley with a friend to admire the snow. It was more than twenty miles away in the suburbs. That day, he returned to the residence and fell sick. The medicine was ineffective."
The minister's wife searched her memory and spoke.
"Who did he go with?"
"A scholar in the city. His surname is Han."
Soon, Scholar Han was invited. It was exactly as the minister's wife had said.
This person had high cheekbones and two big dark circles under his eyes. His eyes were blurry and his skin was dark. He looked like he had just recovered from a serious illness.
"That day, Brother Ruyu asked me to go to the Hundred Flowers Valley to admire the snow. After getting off the carriage and walking into the valley, I suddenly saw a mansion in the valley. The peach blossoms in the mansion were blooming and filled with spring. The sound of a pipa came from the peach forest."
Scholar Han was wearing several thick clothes and didn't have the strength to speak.
"At that time, I was worried that there was some vixen causing trouble. In a place as cold as the Hundred Flowers Valley, I've never heard of a rich family. Moreover, New Year's Eve has just passed. How could peach blossoms bloom? I urged Brother Ruyu to leave.
Brother Ruyu refused and insisted on climbing up the hill to look at the mansion. Sure enough, he saw a beautiful girl playing the pipa under the peach blossoms. He was immediately shocked.
I had a bad feeling and dragged him away. He complained about it to me.
After I came back, I fell seriously ill and was about to come over to see Brother Ruyu. Who would have thought that something would really happen?"
After saying that, he lay by Liu Ruyu's bed and said in a sorrowful tone:
"Brother Ruyu, what's wrong with you? You've treated me well since we got to know each other. I wish I could suffer for you."
The driver of the carriage, who was standing at the side and trembling, also explained the situation. He stayed behind to guard the carriage and what he saw was the same as what Scholar Han had seen.
Yun Su nodded and said nothing. This Scholar Han was not lying. The three Yang flames on his head and shoulders seemed very weak and his body was also very weak.
Although this person did not have a powerful scholarly aura, he had his own mix of righteous and scholarly aura. No wonder he could escape unscathed after encountering that strange thing.
On the contrary, the unlucky Young Master Liu Ruyu left his soul there.
Yun Su indicated that it was fine. Minister Liu immediately got someone to prepare some money and supplements to send Scholar Han back. Then, he waited at the side for instructions.
"Minister Liu, go to the city and ask the two old butchers to stand in front of the bed. Don't leave. I'll go to the Hundred Flowers Valley."
"Steward Ma, do as Mr. Su says immediately and ask for help. Mr. Su, do you want to bring more people to the Hundred Flowers Valley?"
"Just send that coachman there."
Minister Liu naturally did as he was told and quickly prepared the carriage. He let the coachman drive and summoned two bold and meticulous servants to escort him on horseback with a saber.
They rode out of the city quickly and arrived at the place where Liu and Han got off in less than two hours. The coachman pointed in the general direction where he had seen the two of them return.
"Wait for me here."
The Hundred Flowers Valley was located in a remote area. Because of the spiritual rain, the snow outside the valley had completely melted. As far as the eye could see, there were green mountains and towering mountains in the distance. It seemed to be connected to the Yao Mountain further away, forming a valley at the foot of a mountain range.
The scenery was indeed elegant. No wonder Liu and Han agreed to come here to admire the snow and recite poems.
As soon as he entered the valley, he felt a little warmer. There was a pavilion not far ahead with many footprints and dried fruit crumbs. The view was wide. It should be the place where the rich people in Yuyang City enjoyed the snow.
The valley was open, and there were mountains on both sides. Yun Su continued forward. More weeds grew and the road became more and more deserted. In the middle of nowhere, there was a noisy and festive sound of trumpets coming from ahead. The area around her gradually became lively. Ghosts crawled out of the soil, rocks, burial grounds, and trees. They trembled and walked forward. In the blink of an eye, the group became larger.
Yun Su's dharma eyes were clear. He could already see many haunted houses hidden in the wilderness. Just like the countryside houses, they were not gathered together and were very scattered.
Under every haunted house, there was a faint wisp of Yin energy. There were also some marks of the Yuyang City's Netherworld Burial on the lintel. One could tell the information inside at a glance. Who lived here, when they moved here, what they did when they were alive, what the rules of the Netherworld were, and so on.
There were also some Yin text notices posted directly on the haunted residences, such as strict orders not to gather on a large scale. The residents could not gather in a village in case the Yin energy gathered too much and hurt the birds, beasts, and pedestrians in the forest.
"Let's go and have some wine."
"The wedding banquet of the eldest daughter of the Hu family is really good."
"I must drink to my heart's content."
These ghosts were very familiar with each other and chatted happily with each other. Occasionally, some small ghosts and demons would mix into the team and walk towards a huge tomb in front of them. When they reached the tomb, they disappeared. Yun Su was among them and no ghosts or demons recognized him. They could not see through the illusion and only thought that he was an anomaly who was drinking at the wedding banquet.
"Out of the way, those in front. Move."
"Hey, be careful, big guy. You're going to step on someone."
Yun Su turned his head in the direction of the voice and strangely saw a team of ankle-high dwarves. Some were riding horses, some were carrying gifts and standing behind him. He was more than blocking the way. He had indeed almost stepped on a pile of them.
The little people cursed as they circled the huge feet and followed into the tomb.
This tomb was extremely large. It was seventy to eighty feet in diameter and was filled with limestone. The tomb's owner's background was originally written on the tombstone but it had been wiped away by something.
With a thought, the tomb in front of Yun Su turned into a large red courtyard. The strange thing was that this courtyard was actually real. However, it was underground and the peach blossoms in the courtyard were blooming. It was not an illusion and was somewhat different from what she had guessed.
On the surface, it was a tomb but below it, a large residence had been dug out. Then, he cast a spell to decorate this spring-filled residence. The words "Hu Residence" on the lintel were very striking.
There was an ushering ghost at the door and the party of dwarves just happened to pass through.
"Please come in, sir."
The old ghost did not stop him and warmly invited Yun Su in.