Heaven's Formula

Xia Fan took off the wooden sword behind his back and held it firmly in his hand.

He was waiting for the moment when this evil thing was exposed.

Half a quarter of an hour later, the oil lamp suddenly shook, and a wooden cup on the low table beside the bed was knocked down with a bang, and fell straight to the ground——

Almost at the same time, Xia Fan made a move.

After concentrating on it, the five senses strengthened by qi clearly captured every detail of the pouring of the cup. It first tilted to the left, and then was pushed outwards. If there is anything there, it must be behind the wooden cup, and the traveling route is from right to left!

Xia Fan swung his sword and slashed at the predicted position—according to the frequency of the rattling sound, it was impossible for it to escape this blow!

"Snapped!"

The strong impact made him almost fail to hold the hilt of the sword, and the wooden sword fell on the table almost without any obstacles, and the recoil caused Xia Fan's palm to go numb.Apart from leaving a dent in the low table, there was no gain in this shot.

The sound of da, da is still going on, it sounds like he is laughing at him.

"Hahahaha..." Someone actually laughed this time.

Li held his stomach and laughed for a long time, until the smile turned into a look of discomfort and then stopped - obviously this burst of laughter has involved the wound.

"Xiao Daoist, are you, are you okay?" A doubtful inquiry came from outside the house.

"It's okay... I'm catching ghosts!" Xia Fan shook his numb hand and glared at Li angrily, "Is it so funny to miss once?"

Li nodded solemnly, "It's really interesting to see how you concentrate on chopping the air."

"Air? It obviously knocked over the cup—" Xia Fan frowned suddenly in the middle of speaking, "Wait, do you know the exact location of that thing?"

"Yes and no."

"what does that mean?"

"It means that as long as you don't see it, you'll never know where it is."

If you don't see it...you don't know. The problem is that you don't even know the location. How can you talk about seeing it?Xia Fan looked puzzled.

"The trick is to find a way to see each other," Li Yang raised the corner of his mouth, "I already know what we are looking for."

"Well, what is it?"

"Strange, or... a phoenix." The fox demon replied, "This is also the most branched category of evil spirits. As the saying goes, there are all kinds of strange things. If I guessed correctly, it should be a virtual phoenix, which belongs to Kan. It's the same genus as me."

Xia Fan immediately remembered this knowledge in his heart, even if he couldn't understand its meaning temporarily, "Do you need to use magic to see the... phantom you mentioned?"

"I don't know. Some alchemy techniques might work, but my master didn't teach me." Li paused, "But before there were alchemists, people also figured out a way to see ghosts."

"What method?"

"You'll know right away - just before that, I'm going to need a big stack of window paper, as much as possible."

……

It was not easy to get together a large pile of window paper at nine or ten o'clock in the evening. It took Xia Fan and Mrs. Tian a lot of effort to borrow or buy five or six rolls of oil paper from neighbors.

Li quickly connected them end to end and glued them into three "paper tapes".These paper strips were pasted horizontally on both ends of the wall, dividing the room into several areas.Afterwards, she lit more than ten candles—this is all the reserves of Mrs. Tian's house, and distributed them in various corners of the house.

"That's it..." After completing these preparations, Li clapped his hands and said.

"Are you sure?" Xia Fan doubted, "It feels like there are just a few extra banners made of window paper hanging in the room."

"As far as the vision is concerned, the more complicated the more effective." The fox demon took off his hat and sat cross-legged in front of the paper. "The phantom is the concrete form of Qi. The reason why you can't see it is because you pay too much attention to your eyes."

"But didn't you say earlier that it's more difficult to observe when the lights are off?"

"Indeed, not only will the darkness not make you give up using your eyes, but it will increase your focus on vision, and the effect will naturally be worse."

Xia Fan thought for a while, and found that what the other party said made sense, "Then what is the purpose of these papers?"

"Things seen through the window paper will be more blurred, which will weaken the scene in your eyes in disguise. This will force you to realize that your eyes are no longer reliable, but you can perceive some things that are difficult to be directly observed at ordinary times. The so-called This is the reason why the emptiness is the truth.”

The problem is that the only one who cheats in this way is his own brain... Could it also affect external things?Just when he was doubtful, a black shadow suddenly jumped on the paper.

And apart from him and the fox demon, there should be nothing else in this room!

Through the oiled paper, Xia Fan can see the dim candlelight and the shadow of the bed frame reflected by the light, while the walls, windows and other things that are a little further away completely disappear behind the paper, as if it is an infinite and vast space.Just at the top of the outline of the bed frame, the black shadow twisted its body and moved forward slowly—everything is like a rough shadow play, and the shadow is its stage.

"I saw it." Xia Fan said softly.

"I haven't really seen it yet. Before the phantom is perceived, it can appear in any possible position, and even the world they live in is different from ours. The moment it knocks over the cup, the body is not necessarily in the Near the cup, in my master's words, we can't understand the movement of the illusory because we are bound by the rules of heaven and earth."

Bound by the rules?Xia Fan couldn't help repeating in his heart, "Can you go beyond the rules?"

"The closer it is to chaos, the harder it is to judge it with common sense. Isn't that the case with visions?" Li Tan said with his hands, "And as long as this phantom is perceived by people, it will be bound again by the heavens and the earth, and become a creature that can be seen." A contacted entity. Time to see it for what it really is."

"How to do it?"

"Just walk over there."

Xia Fan nodded, slowly walked around the oiled paper banner, and looked at Tian's wife's bed frame——

I saw that there was an extra cat on it, a raccoon cat that was so ordinary that it couldn't be more ordinary. It probably sensed something. It turned around and opened its mouth to Xia Fan, and let out a soft cry.

"Meow - woo."

Chapter 41 Benefactor

"What did you see?" Li asked.

"...a cat." Xia Fan hesitated for a few seconds before answering. It was really difficult for him to connect the animal in front of him with the evil spirit that harmed people. "Is it the culprit that keeps the Tian family awake at night?"

"Hmm..." Li showed a thoughtful look, "It's the reason, but not necessarily the culprit. The biggest difference between a demon and a charm is that it has no obvious hostility towards living beings. Habits in life." Speaking of which, she looked at Xia Fan, "Go and ask that old man to see if her family has ever raised a raccoon cat."

Xia Fan turned and went out of the house, and soon turned back, "Mrs. Tian said that her family did have a cat before, but it died suddenly half a month ago, and the daughter-in-law cried for a long time about it. What do you mean? , the cat—”

"It's the cat from the Tian family." Li squatted down and held the cat in his hands, "but it is no longer a living being, but a phantom, an illusion made of Qi."

Xia Fan hesitated, and reached out to touch the cat's head. Not only could he feel the furry touch, but also the warm residual heat; the latter even closed his eyes comfortably, and it looked no different from a real living thing.

"Is this a resurrection from the dead? Since Tian's wife likes this cat, maybe we can—"

"No!" Li pricked up his ears and shouted loudly, "Wake up, death is death, dead things cannot come back to life, don't confuse the two!"

Xia Fan was slightly taken aback, it was the first time he had seen such a sharp expression on the fox demon's face.

"There is no way to bring the dead back to life! Once dead, the consciousness will no longer exist. Even if the breath remains, it is just an empty shell. Just like this cihua cat, its course of action is just repeating its life, Even the sense of touch and response is the same, as long as you and I close our eyes, it will return to the blurred state again."

"Even if that woman likes this cat, can she stare at it without sleep all day? What's more, there is more or less qi in the human body, and if you live with a monster made of qi for a long time, your own qi will also become disordered. The result is getting weaker and lifespan is greatly shortened." Li shook his head, "I think her state is so sluggish, half of it is due to her own weakness, and the other half is probably caused by this phantom. You send it to her, The essence is no different from murder!"

"Uh... I'm just assuming," Xia Fan coughed twice, "You don't have to be so angry, do you?"

"It's not okay to assume, it at least proves that you have this idea, and confusing the boundary between life and death is an absolute forbidden area for alchemists!" Fox Demon said in an unquestionable tone, "My master has mentioned many similar things-some alchemists In the process of mastering qi, I mistakenly thought that I could reverse life and death, and finally went astray, and no one ended up well, including Yuyi of the Privy Council. Don’t you think it’s ridiculous that you don’t care about it when you’re alive, and you regret it when you’re dead And, even if you don't hesitate to offend the way of heaven. I just don't want to see you turn into such a ridiculous appearance!"

Is she... worried about herself?

"Okay, okay, I know I'm wrong." Xia Fan retreated based on the principle of correcting if there is a mistake, "Then what should we do with this cat——no, this phantom?"

"It's the projection of Qi. With stronger Qi, its shape can be broken and it can return to the space between heaven and earth." Li lifted the cat in front of him.

"I understand." Xia Fan nodded and picked up the wooden sword again.

……

"The matter is settled." Walking out of the house, Xia Fan said to the expectant Mrs. Tian outside the door.

"Xiao Daoist... what you said is true?" The latter revealed a look of surprise.

"Yes, you can stay at ease, I promise the voice will not come back."

"That..." The young woman who had been half-hiding behind the old lady timidly poked her head out, "Master Daoist, I want to ask you, is there really a ghost in our house?"

"It's not a ghost, but a cat raised by you. It probably doesn't want to part with you, so it stays here after death." Xia Fan slowly said the words he had prepared in advance, "Although it still misses you Master, but life and death are different, I have communicated with it and let it go on the road with peace of mind. Don't worry, it should enter reincarnation soon."

Of course this is not the case. According to Li, the aura of dead objects no longer has consciousness, let alone feelings of reluctance and nostalgia, but he thinks it is easier for ordinary people to accept it.

In addition, the moment he stabbed the sword into the body of the raccoon cat, he deeply felt the difference between the dead and the living. The wooden sword pierced through the void without any resistance, while the latter did not see pain, and still maintained a coquettish appearance until It turned into a wisp of blue smoke and dissipated into the invisible.

"It's Ah Hua!" After hearing Xia Fan's story, Tian's wife covered her mouth immediately, tears streaming down her face. "It, it was a stray cat that my husband and I adopted together. It was fine, but suddenly died of illness for some reason... Woohoo... Do you think it is reluctant to part with its owner... So it didn't blame me, it's great..."

As the woman whimpered, her previously pale complexion faintly returned to a rosy complexion.

"No wonder the Taoist priest asked me about raising cats." Mrs. Tian also felt relieved, and let out a big sigh of relief, "As expected of a famous teacher who gave birth to an outstanding apprentice, Taoist priest, you saved the lives of our family!"

She knelt down again while talking, making Xia Fan flustered again.

"The Tian family will never forget your great kindness and virtue!"

"Thank you, Master Daoist, I owe you my life..."

"No, no, it's just a matter of raising your hands. And the money for the dress and the window paper—"

"Then how can you ask the trail to grow? If it spreads out, it will make the neighbors laugh! If you insist, I won't get up on my knees!"

Faced with such a situation, Xia Fan had no choice but to give up.

He could see that although the Tian family's words were not expressive, or they were pretending to be solemn, their gratitude came from the bottom of their hearts, without any falsehood.

Even before leaving, the old lady did not forget to forcefully stuff a basket of eggs into his arms, and sent them to the door of the inn without giving him a chance to refuse.

When they were about to part, Xia Fan asked a question that had puzzled him for a long time.

"Why don't you go to the Privy Council?"

That's right, although Fenghua County is not a big county, there are still county offices and post stations, and these government agencies can report evil news to the Privy Council in Dacheng or prefectures.For such unconventional anomalies, the local Privy Council should have the responsibility to deal with them.

"The Taoist priest was joking," the old lady covered her mouth and said, "It costs money to invite the officials to come. If they don't move, it's tens of taels of silver. How can we afford it!"

"Dozens of taels?" Xia Fan asked in surprise, "No matter how harmful the evil is?"

"That's the base price. If it's dangerous, you'll have to add it." The old lady had a rare and strange expression, "If you can't get the money together, you'll be in trouble. The government doesn't care about your situation, they just rush into the house and search for everything. Oh, what am I talking about... Anyway, thanks to people with bodhisattva hearts like Daoist Zhao and Daoist Xiao, we can live in peace."

Chapter 42 The Culprit

When Xia Fan returned to the wing, the old lady's words of gratitude still echoed in his ears.

"How is it, how does it feel to help people get rid of evil for the first time?" Fox Demon looked at him with a smile that was not a smile, and there was a hint of teasing in his tone, "Do you feel that you have become the savior of the world and can control the fate of others?"

"Honestly speaking, it's not bad." Xia Fan automatically skipped the second half of her sentence, "I kind of know why Master took this path—compared to entering the Privy Council, traveling around like this, It doesn’t feel like a bad choice to eradicate harm to the people.”

Only now did he realize that even though his master had many faults, he was still a monk who could draw qi into his body.The advantage brought by entraining Qi alone is enough for him to find a stable job in a wealthy family or an escort agency, so that he won't spend most of his time like a tramp.

Maybe it is because of these thanks that Master took this path.

If it wasn't for entering the Privy Council to further understand the mysteries of the world, he would probably have made the same choice as his master.

After all, being a chivalrous hero is almost everyone's fantasy.

In addition, the old lady's complaints about the Privy Council also made Xia Fan quite concerned.When he was wandering with his master, he heard several cases where the alchemists of the Privy Council cut off evil spirits and kept one safe. The government also promoted the Privy Council as an institution to deal with all abnormal phenomena, which seemed to be in conflict with what Mrs. Tian said.

It's just that he doesn't have any way to prove it now. Master never mentions this aspect, and he avoids alchemists when he meets alchemists. Probably he can only know if there is a misunderstanding between them after he enters the Privy Council.

"By the way, I still don't understand one thing." He brought the topic back to the supernatural knowledge he is most interested in. "If a cat can become a ghost after death, isn't it possible for other animals? What chickens, sheep, and cows? Ah... the streets and alleys should be full of ghosts, but my actual feeling is not like that."

This is already a conservative statement. Xia Fan looked down at his palm. If microorganisms were included, bacteria would die and new bacteria would be born in his palm every minute. One needs Qi to be born, and one can become a demon after death, so this world is too lively.

And how do bacteria perceive it... Cats can still see a blurry shadow through the window paper. Microbes, let alone the paper, are a problem if the microscope magnification is not high enough. How can we eliminate them?

"There is no way to become a demon without a reason. No matter what kind of evil it is, you need to rely on strong emotions to have a chance to transform." The fox demon shook his finger, walked to the tea table and sat down, pouring out the money for himself and Xia Fan. Cup of tea, "This emotion can be anger, pain, unwillingness, resentment, ecstasy and bliss, or other feelings that are difficult to describe."

"Just as a large number of dead in vain can form a wild night, although they die and their consciousness disappears, the aura full of strong resentment will linger for a long time until it triggers a vision."

She pushed the tea to Xia Fan, "Then you found the key point?"

Xia Fan immediately understood what she meant, "The key is to have diverse emotions."

Li nodded, "Your reaction is one of the few things worthy of praise."

So... According to the fox demon, creatures with more diverse emotions are more likely to leave traces after death. This can also be understood as the stronger the consciousness, the easier it is to have an impact on the objective world.And the microbes that were worried about before, because they don't have complex consciousness, naturally won't become evil.

When it comes to the richness of emotions, man is definitely the head of all souls.

No...Xia Fan glanced at Li, maybe he should add Yao.

It's just that the number of demons is much lower than that of humans, so it's not so obvious.

It can be deduced from this that the probability of human qi turning into evil spirits is much higher than that of other species, and the harm is also greater.

Thinking of this, Xia Fan felt a wave of sincere satisfaction, and the veil of the world seemed to have lifted a bit for him.

Abducting the fox demon was indeed the right choice.

But another question came to his mind.

...What is the emotion that makes cats become rogues?

Tian's wife seems to have said that Ah Hua died of illness, but animal death is an all-too-common thing. Even if the livestock fell in large numbers due to the plague, there was no major problem.

A thought suddenly flashed in Xia Fan's mind.