A Secret (GL) - Chapter 10

A famous Englishman who was very good at solving cases once said a renowned line to his best friend: “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

Using a very rigorous process of elimination, Gu Shuge arrived at the truth and felt especially moved.

Shen Juan was a very gentle person. Gu Shuge had never seen her make particularly grand or aggressive gestures; even when she was outmaneuvering business rivals, she maintained an elegant poise. Yet for Shuge’s sake, she was already prepared to do battle with evil spirits.

Shuge thought that if even the living environment for ghosts was this difficult nowadays, she would have to learn some skills herself. She couldn’t afford to be a burden. She would try to avoid troubling her sister as much as possible. Shen Juan was busy; a massive group depended on her alone. Shuge didn’t want to add to her load.

With this in mind, Gu Shuge sat a little closer to Shen Juan and leaned her head over the book. Fortunately, Shen Juan couldn’t see her, so her line of sight wasn’t blocked.

Shen Juan read quickly, but Gu Shuge was a fast learner and managed to keep up with her pace.

With a mindset focused on learning, the tragic descriptions in the book didn’t seem quite so terrifying. The author of the book was likely a bit of a wit; the writing was humorous, the terminology concise, and the basic concepts were explained in a very accessible way.

A soul is the spiritual essence that leaves the body after death, carrying human thoughts and emotions. Once a soul leaves the body, it goes to the Underworld to be judged on a lifetime of merits, faults, good, and evil—weighing rewards and punishments to determine the destination of the next reincarnation.

Those souls that linger in the human world are what we call ghosts.

According to the book, there are generally only two situations where a soul becomes a ghost. The first is the most common: it is forged from obsession. Put simply, the deceased has a powerful attachment, and this obsession congeals the soul-form, forcing it to remain in the living world. Without a physical body, the soul is ethereal and untethered, and its consciousness is weak. Those with weaker wills can even be directly controlled by “heart demons.” Add to that the loss of life, and there is bound to be immense resentment. If this resentment piles up and isn’t regulated, the ghost will be consumed by malice and become an “evil ghost” within two or three days.

If an evil ghost takes a human life, it becomes a “fierce ghost” (li-gui).

Once a spirit becomes a fierce ghost and carries the debt of karma, there is only one path left: to be scattered and destroyed by monks, Taoists, or messengers from Hell. They can never enter reincarnation again.

Seeing this, Gu Shuge understood why she had experienced so many wicked thoughts outside the temple. Becoming a ghost naturally gives rise to malice and heart demons.

She just didn’t know if it was Shen Juan’s presence that cleared her mind, or if the talisman pouch was doing the work.

From the moment Shen Juan took the pouch from her remains, Gu Shuge guessed it was unusual. And today, despite Yanjing having so many famous temples, Shen Juan bypassed them all to travel far into the wilderness to Guangping Temple. Shuge suspected there was a connection between the pouch and that temple—perhaps it was a gift from someone there.

Reading further, the second situation where a soul becomes a ghost is when the soul is imprisoned by a magical artifact. Unable to descend to the Underworld, they become ghosts. In ancient times, the world was full of spiritual energy and cultivators were everywhere; various magical artifacts were common, and those meant to imprison spirits were ordinary. But later, the spiritual energy dissipated, mortals could no longer cultivate, and artifacts became rare. They hadn’t appeared in the world for many years.

After reviewing both cases, Gu Shuge tried to categorize herself. She felt she belonged to the former. Her obsession with Shen Juan was incredibly deep. If obsession could be measured by longing, her four years of pining could fill the entire Pacific Ocean.

Even though, when actually facing Shen Juan, she didn’t even dare to meet her eyes.

However, it likely had something to do with the talisman pouch as well. She recalled how, at the accident scene yesterday, a force had pulled her to follow her body into the ambulance. Then, after Shen Juan took the pouch, that force reappeared, driving her to follow Shen Juan.

Combining these instances, she realized she wasn’t being pulled by her body or by Shen Juan herself, but by some mysterious power compelling her to stay close to the talisman.

Gu Shuge’s logic was clear; she had always been a strong thinker. Once she connected the dots she had previously ignored, everything fell into place.

As she thought, she continued reading.

Shen Juan finished a page and turned it. The book was formatted vertically, read from right to left—the reading habit of the ancients. Gu Shuge had read about half a page when she suddenly froze.

The words “Soul Retrieval Art” (Huan-hun Shu) met her eyes. Shen Juan’s hand holding the book trembled slightly. Gu Shuge clearly felt her breath hitch for two seconds.

If her soul could be returned, she could become human again. She… wouldn’t have to worry about never seeing Shen Juan again. Gu Shuge’s heart raced; she forced herself to stay calm and read on.

The Soul Retrieval Art was a secret technique of the Buddha-Heart Sect. During the Wei Dynasty, a prince of the Xiao royal family loved to travel and perform good deeds. Once, while out on disaster relief, he encountered a child whose soul had left his body, leaving a “walking corpse.” Prince Xiao used this art to call back the child’s soul, thereby earning great merit.

As for how a member of the royal family knew this secret technique, it was unknown.

But the Soul Retrieval Art had been passed down ever since.

Next came the necessary conditions for the ritual. Gu Shuge read just one sentence before a bucket of cold water was dumped over her head.

Primary condition: The physical remains must be intact.

Her body was definitely not intact. Such a violent impact would have surely crushed her internal organs, and the condition of her head was likely grim as well.

The hope that had just been ignited was extinguished in an instant. Since her death, Gu Shuge hadn’t even dreamed of returning to life. The surprise of seeing the Soul Retrieval Art had practically lit up her entire world, but that joy didn’t last three minutes before it faded into darkness and failure.

Gu Shuge looked at Shen Juan despondently, seeking comfort. Shen Juan’s expression was grave, but she continued reading, refusing to give up.

Shuge bit her lip and, following Shen Juan’s example, pushed her disappointment aside to read the rest.

The requirements for the Soul Retrieval Art were grueling. First, the body must be intact; second, the soul must be intact—neither could be damaged. Next, the time of separation could not exceed twelve “double-hours,” which is twenty-four hours. Then, one had to light a Soul-Returning Lamp, chant the Soul-Returning Incantation to summon the spirit, attach it back to the flesh, and finally use “spiritual energy” to nourish the body and stabilize the foundation.

She didn’t just fail the first condition; she failed the twenty-four-hour limit as well. She had passed away yesterday at noon; she didn’t need to do the math to know it had been much longer than twenty-four hours. Furthermore, the book contained no instructions on how to make the lamp or how to chant the incantation. As for the final step of using spiritual energy—as a modern person, she had only seen “spiritual energy” in movies and novels. In real life, she had never even heard of it.

Taken together, apart from her soul being intact, she met none of the criteria. Gu Shuge wasn’t even that disappointed anymore. It was like an exam: someone who scores a 95 is usually more bothered than someone who scores a 10.

When the gap is that large, you don’t even dare to dream of it, so there is no point in feeling regret.

“Xiaoge.”

Gu Shuge sat up straight by reflex and looked at Shen Juan.

Shen Juan couldn’t find her position as accurately as she had the night before. Her eyes searched the air, trying to find where she was.

Before Shen Juan could speak, Gu Shuge spoke first, comforting her: “It’s okay. We can find another way.”

Shen Juan naturally couldn’t hear her. She paused for three seconds and said the exact same thing: “There must be another way. We can’t give up.”

Gu Shuge couldn’t help but smile and nod: “Mhm!”

After comforting and encouraging each other, they continued reading.

The book was a hodgepodge, somewhat like a collection of folk ghost stories. It mentioned a bit of everything, but nothing in great detail. Most topics were covered in just a few fleeting sentences.

After finishing the Soul Retrieval Art, it began to explain how to communicate with spirits.

Shen Juan read for five hours, meticulously studying every sentence and reflecting on them. By 11:30 PM, she stopped just as she finished the entire book.

She hid the book in a drawer. Then she opened the large yellow bag from Guangping Temple, taking out incense, candles, and charms, followed by several volumes of scriptures. The bag was quite large; it had been bulging with items.

Gu Shuge suspected Shen Juan had bought one of everything she could find in the temple. Along with the smaller items like incense and charms, she also pulled out two bronze candle holders and a small incense burner.

Gu Shuge looked at Shen Juan and smiled. She poked her head into the bag to see what else was inside, but it was too dark to see, so she pulled her head back out.

Shen Juan leafed through the scriptures and pulled one out. Gu Shuge caught a glimpse of the title: The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Fundamental Vow Sutra. This sutra talks about karma and retribution, advising people to abandon evil for good. It can cleanse heart demons and awaken the consciousness of the deceased.

Gu Shuge saw this and understood: Shen Juan wanted to try and make her manifest.

She took a deep breath, becoming nervous.

This was her first time doing something like this—she hadn’t even heard of it before—and she was afraid it wouldn’t work. Worried that her nervousness would prevent her from coordinating with Shen Juan, she tried to force herself to relax.

After several rounds of deep breathing, she finally managed to dull the edges of her panic.

“I feel you’re here,” Shen Juan said suddenly.

She had found Shuge’s position with precision, looking straight at her. Gu Shuge glanced at the clock on the wall. Both the hour and minute hands were pointing exactly at twelve.

Shen Juan gave a small smile—gentle and peaceful. “It’s good that you’re still here.”

At that smile and those words, the tension Shuge had just managed to soothe came rushing back, even stronger than before. Like a robot with rusted parts, Gu Shuge nodded stiffly: “I think it’s good too. I can still see you.”

As soon as she said it, she covered her mouth. That last sentence revealed too much of her heart. She had let it slip out of nervousness.

She watched Shen Juan’s face intently. Seeing that her expression hadn’t changed, she let out a sigh of relief. Right, Shen Juan can’t hear me. She was so smart; if she heard words that revealed such feelings, she would surely understand the underlying meaning. If Shen Juan knew about her heart, how troubled she would be.

Shen Juan had no idea Shuge had thought so much in an instant. She could only sense Shuge’s presence for a short window of time, so she got straight to the point: “Stay right where you are and don’t move. I want to see if I can see you.”

Gu Shuge became serious and nodded: “Okay.” She sat perfectly upright, silently praying to the Bodhisattvas and gods for protection.

The ritual that followed wasn’t complicated; in fact, it was surprisingly simple.

Shen Juan lit the incense and candles, placing them in the holders and the burner. Then, facing east, she recited a passage from the Fundamental Vow Sutra. Next, she lit a “Manifestation Charm.” As the paper was about to burn out, she looked toward Gu Shuge and commanded:

“Manifest.”

Time seemed to stop. Both Shen Juan and Gu Shuge stayed perfectly still, looking at each other’s positions.

One second, two seconds, three seconds… a minute passed.

There was no change.

Gu Shuge did not manifest.

They had failed.

Gu Shuge was disappointed, her shoulders slumping slightly. But she didn’t lose heart; after a moment of dejection, she cheered herself up and recalled Shen Juan’s steps to see if they differed from the book’s description. After all, it was their first time; it was normal to get details wrong due to inexperience. But after reviewing the whole process, she found nothing wrong. Shen Juan had performed every step with precision.

Compared to Gu Shuge’s disappointment, Shen Juan’s expression remained unchanged—neither disappointed nor dejected, just a bit contemplative. She focused her attention on the incense burner, picked it up to examine it, and after a moment of thought, she pulled out the three sticks of incense. She poured the ash onto the floor and used her hand to smooth out the surface of the ash.

Gu Shuge watched her actions and quickly understood her intent.

According to a method in that book, ghosts could write in incense ash!