"Dad, weren't you scared when you saw it back then?" Luo Tian felt his hairs stood up just thinking about it: "No wonder your grandparents want to take you away from here."
"Speaking of this, it is indeed a bit strange." Ouyang Tian put down the bowl in his hand: "I just accidentally saw the corpse exorcism, but they were very nervous, as if I had encountered something terrible, they took their own
After being locked in the room and whispering for a long time, he came out and said he wanted to take me out of here, saying it was for my studies. I was young at the time, and my father was always a person who valued knowledge. In this remote town,
They were very outstanding, and I didn’t think there was anything wrong. Now that I think about it, their reaction was indeed a bit excessive.”
Luo Tian stopped talking. If his father was telling the truth, why would his grandparents be so nervous? If he saw it, he would see it. What else could he do? He nodded: "That's right."
"It seems that we have to check our family's genealogy later." Ouyang Tian said.
"Okay." Luo Tian saw that Ouyang Tian suddenly became serious, and he felt a little strange in his heart. Their family seemed to have many secrets: "By the way, dad, does grandpa also know about antiques?"
"Yes." Ouyang Tian said: "I remember when I found you in the south, although I identified you based on the birthmark on your body, I was still shocked when I saw your talent for antiques.
At that time, I thought you had inherited our family’s genes.”
"How could it be such a coincidence?" Luo Tian shook his head. Dad now feels that many things are too coincidental, right? "Dad, tell me more about the exorcism of corpses. There have always been many legends in western Hunan. I want to know more about them.
"
"Well, now that we are here, I mentioned Qiu Jue earlier. Usually on the day before Qiu Jue is about to be executed, relatives and fellow villagers of foreign death row prisoners and even those who are good at doing good deeds will pool some money to invite them.
There are usually two Laosi, one in green and one in red. They also have to buy the things needed to exorcise the corpse. I will talk about these later. On the day of the execution, the Laosi, his assistants and the people who helped him all have to
Waiting outside the execution ground. At three o'clock in the afternoon, the knife and axe were raised and dropped, and the death row prisoner's head fell to the ground. As soon as the executioner left the execution ground, the old man in red performed the ritual and recited the incantation, and his assistant helped to sew up the head of the death row prisoner who was beheaded.
Together, the Tsing Yi Lao Si placed cinnabar in seven places on the deceased's forehead, chest, chest, left and right hands, and soles of the feet. Each place was pressed with a talisman, and then tied tightly with five-color cloth strips. According to legend,
, these seven places are the entrances and exits of the seven orifices, and they are sealed with cinnabar talismans to retain the seven souls of the deceased."
"What is cinnabar?" Luo Tian asked.
"It's actually cinnabar, but cinnabar is the best type of cinnabar. When exorcising the corpse, you must use the best cinnabar, so that the seven souls of the deceased can be sealed." Ouyang Tian continued: "After that, some of the best cinnabar must be used.
Cinnabar is stuffed into the ears, nose, and mouth of the deceased, and then sealed tightly with magical talismans. According to legend, the ears, nose, and mouth are the places where the three souls come in and out. This can keep them in the body of the deceased. Finally, it must be applied on the neck of the deceased.
Put the cinnabar on the talisman and tie it tightly with five-color cloth strips; then put the rice dumpling leaf bamboo hat on the deceased. After everything is done, the old man in red will finish reciting the incantation and shout loudly, and the dead body of the guest will stand up in response. "
Luo Tian suddenly felt a chill coming from the back of his head. Even the smooth pickled fish seemed to have lost its taste. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said, "It's incredible."
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have found it unbelievable." Ouyang Tian said: "In fact, many experts later made a special trip to Xiangxi to try to solve the mystery of corpse extermination, but either there was no solution or the answer was just that.
It is not accepted by people. After all, corpse chasers have almost disappeared now. If we want to find the answer, we can only rely on some records and legends. Son, do you believe it?"
Luo Tian was startled for a moment: "I don't know, my mind is a little confused right now." In fact, he is also a person with supernatural powers. He should not doubt these supernatural phenomena, but exorcising corpses is too bizarre.
Already.
Ouyang Tian continued: "The person who drives away the corpses is a mage wearing a Taoist robe. In front of these corpses covered with black shrouds, there is a living person. The locals call them a corpse remover. No matter how many corpses there are, he is responsible for them all."
Hurry. No matter what the weather is, you must wear a pair of straw sandals, a green cloth gown, a black belt around your waist, a green cloth hat on your head, a gong in your hand, and a bag of talismans hidden in your waistband. The mage is not dead.
Finally, he led the way in front of the corpses without lighting a lantern, because he was beating the small gong in his hand while leading the group of corpses forward. He was shaking a soul-catching bell in his hand to let night walkers avoid and notify
Households with dogs will lock up the dogs. If there are more than two corpses, the exorcists will string the corpses one by one with straw ropes, one every seven or eight feet away. When walking in the dark, the corpse will wear a high tube on its head.
He is wearing a blanket hat, and there are a few pieces of yellow paper with talismans written on his forehead hanging down on his face. These are not much different from what I saw back then. They should be credible."
Luo Tian nodded: "Yes, it seems that Dad made a lot of efforts to understand it afterwards."
"After all, it is such a bizarre experience, it is still difficult to suppress curiosity." Ouyang Tian said: "Afterwards, I learned more comprehensively. There was a corpse inn on the way to the corpse. This kind of mysterious corpse guest
The shop only houses corpses and corpse collectors, not ordinary people. Its door is open all year round, because behind the two door panels is where the corpses rest. The corpse collectors drive the corpses and arrive at the corpse shop before dawn.
, left quietly at night. The corpses were all standing neatly against the wall behind the door. If it was difficult to walk on a heavy rainy day, they would stay in the store for a few days and nights."
"This kind of corpse shop has disappeared now, and there are hotels everywhere now." Luo Tian smiled and said: "Where can there be such a shop specifically for the dead?"
"That's why it's so mysterious. And after the body is returned to the destination, there are certain things to do about covering the coffin and burying it. Two or three days before arriving at the destination, the family of the deceased should be notified in advance and the clothes and coffin should be ready. When the deceased arrives,
Immediately, the deceased is fully clothed with clothes, hats and shoes, and put into the coffin. This burial process is entirely undertaken by the exorcists, and no one else is allowed to intervene or watch, just as the corpse is lifted out of the coffin and no one is allowed to peek.
It is at these critical moments that when a stranger approaches the corpse, there is a danger of being surprised or deceiving the corpse, and the encoffining process must be done in the middle of the night. All arrangements are in place, that is to say, after the deceased has been buried, the bereaved family can claim it."
Ouyang Tian said.
Luo Tian finally heard what he knew: "I know about the corpse fraud. The ancients believed that when a person dies, there is sometimes a breath left in the chest. If a cat, mouse or something rushes him, he will be resurrected, which is commonly known as corpse fraud. But.
This breath cannot support life at all. It will only make the resurrected corpse chase and bite like a wild beast. Finally, the breath is exhausted and it falls to the ground, which is considered completely dead. However, there seems to be some scientific explanations for this phenomenon. People
After death, the electric field of the body no longer exists, but the electric ions carried by the surrounding cats, dogs, etc. will have an effect on the dead body and cause certain vital signs of the deceased, just like the corpse has abnormal movements."
"Well, there is some truth in this analysis." Ouyang Tian said: "There are principles for expelling corpses in Xiangxi. Generally, there are three exorcisms and three no-expulsions. Those who can be expelled include those who have been beheaded and those who have been hanged.
, these three types of people who died in standing cages can be driven away, but those who were beheaded must have their heads and bodies sewn together before being driven away. Legend has it that because they were all forced to die, they died unconvinced and missed their hometown.
Relatives can use spells to attract their souls, use spells to imbue their corpses, and then use spells to drive them to climb mountains and ridges, or even board boats and cross rivers to return to their hometowns."
Luo Tian has been completely fascinated by this world of chasing corpses: "Then what are the three things that don't chase?"
"Those who died of illness, those who voluntarily died by hanging themselves in rivers, and those whose limbs were damaged by thunder and fire cannot be driven away. Among them, the souls of those who died of illness have been taken away by the King of Hell, and their souls cannot be called back from the gate of hell.
The souls of the river hangers are "replaced", and they may be in the process of handover. If new souls are summoned, the old souls cannot be replaced, which will affect the reincarnation of the old souls; in addition, those who died due to thunder,
They are all people with serious sins, and those who are burned to death in fires often have incomplete skin and flesh, and they cannot be expelled." Ouyang Tian said: "In Xiangxi, the industry of exorcism has existed since ancient times. The exorcists never recruit apprentices randomly. Apprentices are led by their parents.
First, you need to create a written record, and then you have to be interviewed by the exorcist. Generally speaking, you have to be over 16 years old and over 1.7 meters tall. There is also a very special condition, which is that you have to be ugly and courageous."
"Why do they have to be ugly people?" Luo Tian couldn't help but laugh out loud. In today's society, people who want to do anything must be tall and good-looking. This corpse extermination team is really special. They actually specify those who are good-looking.
ugly.
"It is said that ugly people can ward off evil spirits." Ouyang Tian said with a smile: "I don't think this is accurate. It may be that ugly people will stay in this industry longer. You know, cultivating a
It is not easy to become an apprentice, and interviewing apprentices is often very strict."
"Oh, there are so many rules." Luo Tian said.
"The corpse driver first asks the candidates to look at the sun in the sky, then rotate, and then suddenly stop, asking you to immediately distinguish between east, west, north and south. If you can't tell the difference, you will not be hired. Because you don't distinguish between east, west, north and south at this time, it means that you are
You can't drive the corpse out at night because you can't tell the direction. Then, the corpse driver will ask you to find something and carry a load. Because the corpse is not a living person after all, and the corpse cannot climb up a steep slope. The corpse driver has to
One by one, they carry and carry them up the high slope; finally, there is another interview, which is for the corpse exorcist to place a tung tree leaf on a grave in the mountains, and ask you to retrieve it alone in the dark. Only in this way can you prove that you have the ability.
The courage to become a corpse exterminator. If you successfully pass these three levels, you will have the possibility to become an apprentice to the corpse exterminator."
"The first thing the master teaches his disciples is to draw a talisman. This very strange talisman is something that looks like a word and a painting drawn with an ink pen on yellow paper. When encountering an unexpected situation on the way, he will turn this strange talisman to the west.
Hang it on a tree or door, and sometimes burn it with ashes and swallow it with water. At the same time, apprentices must learn thirty-six kinds of skills before they can drive away the corpse. The first skill is the corpse standing skill, which means that the dead body must first be able to
Stand up. The second skill is walking skill, which means that the corpse can stop and walk freely. The third skill is turning skill, which means that the corpse can turn while walking. In addition, there are downhill skill, bridge crossing skill, mute dog skill,
Resurrection Kungfu, etc.”
Luo Tian said: "I know that this kind of profession seems to only exist in western Hunan. Dad, what is the reason for this?"