Getting a promotion and a raise while marrying a wealthy beauty is definitely the dream of every man on Earth, whether he is a young man or an old geezer, short and poor or tall, rich and handsome. No matter if he is a beggar or a head of state, nobody ever complains about having too much money; they only fear not having enough. The wealthier a person is, the more at ease they feel; the poorer someone is, the more anxious and even terrified they become. There are no shortage of examples where people resort to suicide due to debt crises! For instance, someone's company goes bankrupt and leaves them tens of millions in debt, leaving them with no choice but to end it all.
Promoted at last! Now there is only one job to take seriously: collecting Death Qi. Zhuang Yimeng no longer had to go around catching those lone wild ghosts, nor did he have to run about in a dusty rush. Collecting Death Qi only required staking out a spot and keeping watch. First, gather the Death Qi properly, and then secure the soul—that completed a small task. After that, he could move on to search for the next target. It had a clear purpose. What did this mean? It simply meant this ghost was now a regular employee! Not only was he issued a red token, but he also received a great treasure bestowed by his superiors: the Seven Treasures Gourd, designed specifically for gathering souls. As for benevolent people and those who had accumulated great merits during their lifetimes, their souls could not be reaped using the Soul-Reaping Chain; that was the absolute minimum respect owed to them...
Promotion, a raise, and a much better mood. As for marrying a wealthy beauty, well, let's forget about that—for ghosts, thinking about marriage was as far as it went. Only those with true strength stood a chance. At the very least, one had to reach the Ghost King level! Who had ever heard of ghosts going around in pairs? What people heard about most were lonely ghosts—lone wild ghosts. The notion that only a Ghost King could marry was likely based entirely on strength. Given his current situation, where his cultivation hadn't even reached the Peak Ghost Soldier stage, dreaming of marriage was nothing short of a joke. Let's take this moment to review the various ranks of ghosts:
Ordinary Ghost, Fierce Ghost, Ghost Soldier, Ghost General, Ghost Commander, Ghost King, Ghost Emperor, Ghost Deity... Tsk tsk, those were still a long way off!
It was nothing but wishful thinking. With his particular method of cultivation, marriage was once again practically out of the question for this lifetime. Haha, well, you get used to it.
With his rank upgraded and his salary and benefits improved, his labor should naturally become more diligent as well. And so, a new work assignment began: collecting Death Qi. He had never done this before and had no experience. However, these were minor details, because Zhuang Yimeng had a red-bearded uncle.
This red-bearded uncle carried a large calligraphy brush in his right hand and a small ledger in his left. Who was this person? Hehe, none other than the legendary Judge Lu! As for his story, we won't go into detail here; he was simply one of the 12 judges of the Underworld. All the staff here addressed this Assistant Envoy by that title. It proved that well-known saying: when you step outside, you run into influential benefactors.
The day was growing late. After finishing his work, Zhuang Yimeng sat cross-legged in a City God Temple somewhere in the Dragon Kingdom, clutching the Crystal Cold Stone he had picked up a while ago, absorbing its energy with great vigor... Ever since he got this treasure, he basically hadn't needed to visit those mass graves anymore.
At that moment, a tall and imposing figure suddenly appeared inside the City God Temple without the slightest ripple of energy. Seeing Zhuang Yimeng immersed in his cultivation before him, the red beard said nothing. In the cultivation world, an unwritten rule was that one must never casually disturb another person's cultivation. That was precisely how the concept of closed-door cultivation came to be.
Actually, although Zhuang Yimeng's mind was in deep meditation, he had already noticed the arrival, yet he did not respond immediately. It wasn't due to a lack of manners, but rather because he was in the middle of cultivation. Being disturbed in such a state made it extremely easy for things to go wrong. If things went poorly, it could lead to a deviation in cultivation, turning him into a bloodthirsty monster who didn't recognize his own family and killed everyone in sight.
Seeing this, the red-bearded uncle did not disturb him either. Instead, he simply pulled out a small booklet, placed it on the offering table, and vanished.
The world of ghosts was like this: they didn't like to talk much. Cold, ruthless, and murderous—that was the true nature of ghosts. This was especially true regarding the hierarchy; orders from superiors had to be obeyed unconditionally. Ordinary ghosts rarely made mistakes, not because they wouldn't, but because they didn't dare, since even the tiniest slip-up would bring severe punishment. Even if they truly felt affection or concern for someone or something, they never let their emotions show on their faces.
A cultivator's greatest taboo was being disturbed by others. Regardless of the race or the practitioner, this held true for all. Disturbing someone's cultivation was akin to killing their parents. That was why the red-bearded uncle had acted the way he did. It wasn't that he disliked talking, but rather that things should be understood at a glance. From this, one could tell that the red-bearded uncle was indeed a warm-hearted man beneath a cold exterior. The work-related matters had actually been explained a few days prior, so this visit was merely a supplement, nothing more. It was unknown how much time had passed before Zhuang Yimeng finally emerged from his meditation. A glance outside revealed that dawn had already broken. Looking at the small booklet on the incense offering table, he couldn't help but smile faintly, then picked it up and began reading it like a picture book.
"Sigh, it's all in ancient script. Completely unreadable! But come on, even if I haven't eaten pork, haven't I seen a pig run? It's just Death Qi—time to get to work!" With a swoosh, Zhuang Yimeng vanished and arrived at a small village... A small river cut right through it from east to west.
"The slender tree is dressed in emerald green, ten thousand hanging strands like silken threads. Who carved these delicate leaves? The spring breeze of February is like scissors..." True to the verse, a lush, towering willow tree stood proudly at the eastern entrance of the small village, forming a unique landscape because it was the very first willow tree there, surrounded entirely by rice paddies and wild grass. Without a second thought, he decided to rest his feet on this willow tree first.
"Ouch, what the heck!" Before he could even land on the branches, he was whipped flying. No good—today he was actually getting bullied by a tree! The lash burned with pain. What a joke; a ghost in front of a willow tree was nothing more than a clown putting on a show. To an outsider, it would have merely looked like the willow branches swaying in a windless breeze, but in reality, this was the embarrassing spectacle of a Soul-Reaping Envoy getting bullied. Fortunately, nobody was watching, or it would have been a massive humiliation.
Never mind. Although he found willow trees somewhat appealing to the eye, this clearly wasn't his cup of tea. In his past life, Zhuang Yimeng had heard stories about willow branches beating ghosts. Seeing it today, it truly lived up to its reputation. While he might not possess supreme wisdom, he wasn't a fool either.
Generally speaking, willow trees ought to attract ghosts. Moreover, willow trees belong to the Yin element, which is one of the reasons they are believed to attract ghosts. But in reality? Willow trees do not attract ghosts at all; in fact, they can beat them. Why are ghosts afraid of willow trees? There are several reasons for this:
Willow trees actually share a historical connection with Buddhism. The exact origins of this relationship with Buddhism will be discussed another time. In truth, a willow tree encountering a ghost is much like a peach tree's relationship with Taoism. Peach trees can be used as Taoist items to ward off evil, such as peach wood swords against zombies. Naturally, willow trees serve as Buddhist items for warding off evil—this is the root cause of ghosts' fear of willow branches, because it fundamentally stems from ghosts' dread of Buddhism. Anyone who has watched *Journey to the West* knows this.
The willow tree is actually an item associated with Auntie Guanyin. Anyone who has looked at portraits of Auntie Guanyin can understand this! Remember the slender branch inside the pure jade vase in Guanyin's hand? Does anyone recall it? The branch inside the jade vase is a willow branch, which naturally leaves a deep impression. In fact, since the willow tree is an item from Guanyin's side, it's hardly surprising that willow branches can beat ghosts, given their direct connection to Auntie Guanyin.
Willow trees can nail souls in place. Another reason willow branches are feared by ghosts is that they can pin down souls. Since a ghost is naturally a type of soul, it can also be pinned down by willow branches. One can also understand it this way: a ghost's fear of willow branches comes from the deepest depths of its heart, much like how humans fear chains and handcuffs—everyone is terrified of being locked up.
If someone wants to use willow branches to beat ghosts, they typically stick the branches in front of their own doorway. The main purpose of doing this is not to beat ghosts, but to make ghosts feel terrified so they won't dare approach. Just imagine, when a person sees a pair of handcuffs, they stay far away; when a ghost sees willow branches capable of pinning down souls stuck in the ground, it naturally keeps its distance as well. In Guangdong, many people place several thick willow branches right at their front doors.
If you feel you are being plagued by a ghost, you can choose to go to the riverside and strike the air with a willow branch. According to Feng Shui principles, the atmosphere near a river allows willow branches to exert their maximum effect, and most willow trees naturally grow by the riverside. Therefore, beating ghosts by the river naturally produces an even better Feng Shui effect.
Those are the reasons why ghosts fear willow branches, along with the methods for using them to beat ghosts. If anyone is afraid of being affected by ghosts, they can choose to use willow branches to beat them; this yields exceptionally good results in terms of Feng Shui and effectively suppresses ghosts. If any friends feel they have encountered a ghost, you can all give it this try!
"Retreat!" This ghost was defeated. It truly proved that old saying: everything has its natural conqueror.
Business comes first—activate Ghost Eye mode! This was practically a supernatural detective's view, making everything crystal clear at a glance. In this impoverished, rundown mountain village, there were actually several old geezers experiencing the five signs of decay.
They always say those old geezers are full of tricks, and there's quite a bit of truth to that saying. This village was also known as Zhuangjiacun Village, and there was an old man in the village named Zhuangjia. The village's economic model was fundamentally based on raising cattle and horses. Zhuangjia was also known as Old Man Zhuang Er, and almost every single day, rain or shine, he went out to herd the cattle. Zhuangjia raised a family of three cows: a papa cow, a mama cow, and a calf. The daily terror for this family of three cows was running into Zhuangjia. Why? Because Old Man Zhuang Er loved to beat the cows. It was once again the time of day to fetch the cattle home in the late afternoon, and amidst the wild grass-filled rice paddies, a large herd of cattle and horses roamed.
As the setting sun cast its glow, an old man walked slowly toward the herd with a limp...
Seeing this, the cattle panicked and scattered wildly without a moment's hesitation, especially the family of three cows.
The papa cow shouted at the top of its lungs to the mama cow, "I say, cow dear, what are you running for?"
"Oh, cow dear, you don't know—that Zhuangjia loves to brag, and I'm terrified! If I don't run, am I supposed to sit here and take this humiliation?"
The mama cow asked the papa cow in confusion, "I say, cow dear, what are you running for? You don't even have anything to brag about."
"Ah, cow dear, you don't know—not only does Old Man Zhuang Er love to brag, he also loves to talk nonsense. Look right here." The papa cow turned its head to look at its own rear.
"I say, little calf, what are you running for? Your stuff is still so small, what is there to be scared of?" the papa cow asked the little calf running right behind them.
"Dad, Mom, you guys don't know—not only does Old Man Zhuang Er love to brag and talk nonsense, he's also full of empty threats! Run, quick!"