Chapter 117: The Art of Ghost Servitude, The Kudzu Spirit

"Then who are you casting a curse on?"

"I'm not casting it on anyone... Goodness, sorcery isn't just about curses. You young people today are all the same—you only know the surface and nothing of the depths. You see a little bit of nonsense online and start spouting off."

Uncle Yan held up his index finger, gesturing as he explained, "Sorcery is divided into medicinal, kinetic, and spectral arts."

"Medicinal sorcery is the entry-level, the most basic and relatively simple form."

"Kinetic sorcery is the most lethal. It can curse people from afar, for instance, causing shards of glass, razor blades, or insects to manifest inside a perfectly healthy person's stomach..."

"And spectral sorcery is quite unique. In Malaysia, it is the most mainstream practice, commonly known among the folk as the 'method of commanding ghosts.' It is a type of spirit-summoning ritual. As I told you before, living people borrowing the power of spirits—you remember that, right?"

The "method of commanding ghosts"—that actually made some sense. It sounded like the supernatural ability of a living person to keep a spirit, though... this Nanyang "spectral sorcery" wasn't the only way to command ghosts and demons; in truth, they all shared the same origin. Things like spirit-inhabited amulets or Yin-Yang shikigami were essentially the same concept.

After much effort, Uncle Yan pulled something from the bottom of his backpack: a rectangular wooden box. It was pitch black, and looking at its shape, Qi Yan asked, "The box in your hand looks like a miniature coffin..."

"That is exactly what it is—a small coffin."

"Oh?"

"Do you know how those small spirits known as 'Luk-Gat' are made?"

Qi Yan shook his head in confusion. He knew what "small spirits" were, but he wasn't familiar with the specific distinctions.

***

Like the commonly mentioned Kuman Thong, which are generally considered well-meaning infant spirits, the "Luk-Gat" Uncle Yan spoke of were a different matter. Though they were also small spirits, they were a type of malevolent ghost.

"First, you find a piece of wood and carve it into a small coffin. Then, you locate the grave of a young boy or girl, dig up their coffin, and remove the skull. You light a specially prepared yellow ritual candle and hold it near the corpse's chin. The heat causes the body fat to melt into corpse oil, which you drip into the prepared coffin. You chant incantations to consecrate it, take it back in secret, and after forty-nine days of rituals, the soul becomes obedient and follows your commands."

"It sounds hair-raising, doesn't it? But some evil spirit-raisers are even more inhumane. They use fetuses that died in the womb; those are even more effective because the resentment of spirits who never saw the light of day is much stronger."

"Before summoning the spirit, you must recite an incantation and inform them of the task at hand. The spirit will then complete it as quickly as possible. However, any practitioner who raises these spirits must possess immense magical power; otherwise, not only will they fail to control the spirit, but they will end up being harmed by it instead."

Qi Yan listened in a daze, finally gaining a rough understanding. But looking at the small coffin Uncle Yan had produced...

"What? Are you saying... the coffin in your hand contains a malevolent spirit? One made using that very method?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Uncle Yan, grave robbers are already despicable enough just for the sake of money, but you—you go and rob children's graves, collect corpse oil, and capture souls to refine ghosts? Don't you people in the occult world believe in accumulating merit? Aren't you afraid of shortening your lifespan?" Qi Yan clicked his tongue repeatedly.

Uncle Yan paused, then immediately explained, "Hey! Even though this thing is in my hands now, I didn't refine this spirit myself! I snatched it from a black-robed evil sorcerer back when I was in Malaysia. Don't misunderstand; Xuanxuan and I have never refined ghosts!"

Qi Yan waved his hand and continued digging the hole. "Fine, fine, fine... whatever you say. So, what’s the point of bringing this out now? Are you planning to use this little evil spirit to help?"

Uncle Yan cradled the small coffin, his eyes filled with a trace of melancholy and compassion. "Sigh... it is my own incompetence, really. I had hoped that after snatching this poor child's soul, I would have the power to liberate it, to help it enter the cycle of reincarnation early so it wouldn't have to linger in the mortal world and be driven by others."

"But unfortunately, its resentment is too deep. For a vengeful spirit, it’s like the soul has contracted an incurable disease. Even as a sorcerer, once the illness reaches a certain point, I cannot fully cure it. So, after more than two years, it still hasn't cleansed its resentment, and I’ve had no choice but to keep it with me. I rarely ever use it."

"Now, it seems I have no choice but to ask for its help. After all, the opponent is a demon."

Qi Yan recalled something and frowned. "Wait, that's not right... I heard Hao Dalong say that when you first met him, you saved him from a group of demons in the Northeast. Is this demon even more powerful than those?"

Uncle Yan was surprised that Hao Dalong had mentioned that past event to Qi Yan, but he quickly corrected him. "No, no, no... it's not the same thing. Those wild immortals in the Northeast, while they are a type of demon, are generally somewhat reasonable and more human-like... but the mountain spirits and wild monsters in this Southwest region have no such scruples. You cannot reason with them or appeal to their emotions."

***

Qi Yan finally understood and urged him, "Then please, start the ritual! I’ve almost finished digging this pit. Ouch, my fingernails... hiss... I think they're torn. Why do you even need a dirt pit to summon a ghost?"

Uncle Yan walked over to inspect it. Qi Yan had indeed dug a small pit—not wide, but deep enough.

"One must pay attention to method and technique. Any spirit feels a sense of comfort when it comes into contact with the 'earth energy.' When asking for help from a person—no, from a ghost—one must naturally show some sincerity."

He carefully placed the small coffin into the pit. He placed the bright red centipede he had taken out earlier onto the lid of the coffin. The centipede did not move, curling itself into a small ball and staying perfectly still.

He clasped his hands together and recited an incantation silently for a moment, then changed his hand seals and chanted a few more times. Finally, he and Qi Yan worked together to fill the small pit back up with soil.

The entire process took over half an hour.

That wasn't the end of it. Once the pit was filled, Uncle Yan used a small blade to prick his index finger, dripping four or five drops of fresh blood onto the surface of the soil. He pulled out a blue talisman—not made of paper, but of cloth—inscribed with strange black runes. It was square and, when unfolded, about the size of a tablecloth. He laid this blue talisman cloth over the top of the grave.

He instructed Qi Yan to help him light an incense stick and plant it in the ground before them.

This was the first time Qi Yan had seen Uncle Yan perform a ritual in person, and it appeared to be a fairly complete form of spectral sorcery.

The procedures had been greatly simplified, but given that this was an emergency, one had to cut corners where possible...