Chapter 157 - 146 Ghost Tattoo

Chapter 157: Chapter 146 Ghost TattooThree ghosts, each with different identities. The first ghost was a middle-aged man, with a large belly, wearing an official robe from an unknown dynasty. The second ghost was a monk, dressed in tattered kasaya, smiling, meditating toward the Blood Tree. The third ghost was a Taoist, with a Taoist Scripture tucked at his waist, standing in place, gazing up at the sky, pondering something unknown. The branches of the Blood Tree lashed out at the three ghosts. The branches were like whips, one lash after another, tearing the ghosts apart and then absorbing their remnant souls into the branches. Then, the branches began tattooing on the back of the baby on the tree. The three ghosts became three tattoos. The first tattoo—Heavenly Official Blessing. The second tattoo—Flower-picking Handprint. The third tattoo—Wordless Heavenly Scripture. The designs this time looked quite orthodox, unlike the eerie ones from the last six pieces, Zhou Xuan was still marveling, when suddenly, the baby with the "Heavenly Official Blessing" tattoo started clawing at its own chest, and after making a bloody mess, it dug out its heart and handed it to the branch. The branch pierced the heart, the eye on the "Heavenly Official Blessing" at the baby’s back opened, and it was a pair of eyes without pupils. The baby with the "Flower-picking Handprint" tattoo bit off its ten fingers one by one, spit them out, and two branches clamped the fingers together, twisting them like a rope. The sheer torsion crushed the fingers into crimson juice, which the branches absorbed, and then the hand in the "Flower-picking Handprint" grew a sinister and venomous eye. The baby with the "Wordless Heavenly Scripture" tattoo gouged out its eyes and handed them to the branch. The branch crushed the eyes, and on the "Wordless Heavenly Scripture," a Taoist elixir furnace appeared. The furnace body spun rapidly, and dim blood flowed out through the gaps between the lid and body... "I just mentioned orthodox... yet it turned out even more sinister than last time!" Zhou Xuan clenched his molars tightly, almost cursing aloud. After completing the three tattoos, the Blood Tree once again entered a withered state. ... Zhou Xuan returned to the shop, carefully recalling those three tattoos. "Different from last time, last time the branches absorbed blood; this time they extracted souls. This means that the three tattoos this time all required ghosts, and it seems that there are specific requirements for the souls." The Heavenly Official Blessing required someone who was an official in life, the Flower-picking Handprint needed a monk, and the Wordless Heavenly Scripture required a Taoist. "Finding these materials will be a bit challenging." Zhou Xuan decided not to think about the new tattoos for now; he picked up a large piece of human skin and first tattooed a "Buddha’s Head." This Buddha’s Head needed to be delivered to the Huang Family tomorrow. Having done a Buddha’s Head once before, only Lv Mingkun was left in the shop, performing corpse purification while Little Fuzi was out front attracting customers, with no outsiders around. Zhou Xuan infused all his perception into the Bone Teeth, creating the tattoo swiftly and effortlessly. While working, Lv Mingkun glanced at Zhou Xuan’s Bone Teeth and said, "Junior Brother, have you already burned one inch of incense?" "You can tell from the Bone Teeth?" "Yes!" Lv Mingkun said, "For a Tangkou like ours that treats tools as weapons, as the Incense Fire Level increases, the tools become more intuitive to use, at one incense, the tools can flow with your mind during work. By the second incense, they begin to have a true spiritual nature and can simply respond to your actions. I noticed earlier that your hands were sweaty, the Bone Teeth slipped, yet it drilled itself back into your hand, indicating your control over it is already at the level of second incense." The normal level of second incense corresponded to the one inch of incense that Zhou Xuan had burned. "I see." Zhou Xuan asked Lv Mingkun, "When will my Bone Teeth reach your level, where I can beckon it back with a wave?" "Four incense," Lv Mingkun said. "I still have work to do then." Zhou Xuan again asked Lv Mingkun, "Fifth Brother, I need to get three ghosts, one who was an official, one a monk, and one a Taoist. Is it doable?" "The first one is easy to get, as long as the official wasn’t particularly high-ranking. The monk and Taoist are difficult," Lv Mingkun explained, "As for the official, we can use money to purchase at a good Jingyi Shop, but monks and Taoists? They have their own burial processes and agencies, which are not open to outsiders, making it tough to obtain." "Have you learned a new tattoo?" Yun Ziliang entered with some braised pig head meat. "Lao Yun, have you been out gambling again?" "No fun, just old men and women who can’t really play, and I’m always outgaming them..." Yun Ziliang sat on a rattan chair and said to Zhou Xuan, "I heard you need ghosts?" "Yes, I’m running into trouble with it," Zhou Xuan replied. "That’s easy to get!" "One who was an official, a former monk, a former Taoist." "Easy." "Lao Yun, are you hiding some special skills?" Zhou Xuan picked up on Yun Ziliang’s implication. "Any descendant of the Taoist would know ghost-catching methods," Yun Ziliang said, "I have twelve magic skills for ghost-catching, and I can catch whatever I say. If I say monk, I won’t catch a Taoist!" "Lao Yun, say no more, it’s all in the tea." Zhou Xuan filled Yun Ziliang’s small teapot with hot water. ... The Si Mansion had four courtyards, each quite spacious. The south courtyard had always been where the first young lady of the Si Mansion, Si Yuer, enjoyed flowers. Si Yuer, since childhood, was a carefree girl, always laughing heartily in conversations, and sometimes even enjoyed playing chess and drinking with the drivers, coachmen, maids, and even laborers in the mansion. Thus, the south courtyard was once a lively place; but ever since Si Yuer’s madness worsened, fewer and fewer people came to the south courtyard. Until a few months ago, when the old coachman Chen had his leg broken by the mad Si Yuer, this courtyard became a forbidden zone in the Si Mansion, with few daring to enter. Si Ming, holding a tattoo, walked into the south courtyard and then proceeded to walk deeper, coming to a small house with its entrance stacked with curious stones, he caught the strong scent of blood and heard the clashing of iron chains and a heavy sigh. He opened the door and saw the scene inside the house clearly. His daughter, Si Yuer, was chained to the bed, with one end of the iron chain nailed into the wall, and with Yuer’s strength, she couldn’t break free. The bed and walls were covered in blood, but not human blood—it was dog blood. On the floor lay the corpses of five or six dogs. The dogs had died miserably; some were beheaded, some had their windpipe bitten through, and others had their entrails ripped out. Looking at the dogs, Si Ming could *almost feel the madness of his daughter, feeling sorrow and asked Lady Wen, who was sitting in the corner. "Lady Wen, are all these dogs released today?" "Yes, sir," Lady Wen said. "Miss was particularly mad today, she slaughtered all five dogs within half an hour." Releasing dogs for Si Yuer to kill was Si Ming’s idea. Observations over the past year revealed a pattern: slaying seemed to alleviate her madness, albeit with limited effect but better than nothing. "Lady Wen, has Yuer eaten lunch?" "She has," Lady Wen said. Lady Wen, Si Yuer’s nanny, was responsible for her care now that she was mad, but even she dared not get too close to Yuer. At mealtimes, she would use a long bamboo pole to inch the meal box placed on the floor to the side of the bed. "Okay, you may leave now." After Lady Wen left, Si Ming shut the door and, with the tattoo of a Buddha’s Head in hand, stepped toward Si Yuer. Seeing someone approaching, Si Yuer, still in a state of madness, was like a fierce hunting hound, crouched on the bed, looking viciously. "Yuer, look at the Buddha’s Head... look at the Buddha’s Head!" Si Yuer didn’t look, but for no reason, she heard the sound of Buddhist scriptures. She immediately became curious, looking around to find where the Buddha’s sound was coming from. But the Buddha’s sound seemed to come from all directions, with no clear source, leaving her searching with no result. She was very frustrated and sat down on the bed, just as the Buddha’s sound found a gap and slipped into Yuer’s heart. The Buddha’s sound resonated within her body, Simultaneously, the Buddha’s Head in the tattoo, its eyes turned blood red, no longer looked like a Buddha but a demon. Yet, Yuer’s spirit recovered very quickly, and her clouded eyes soon cleared. "Dad, how come you’re here?" Si Yuer was used to seeing dog corpses on the ground. She lived every day in such a bloody environment and was accustomed to seeing a few dog corpses every time she came to her senses. But her father rarely appeared. Her father was a busy man, busy with business and the Tangkou. "Do you recognize me?" "Dad, I’m not mad now." "Truly not mad?" "Not mad." Si Ming could not help but tear up; he hadn’t expected the Buddha’s Head tattoo to take effect so promptly, saying the madness would cease, and it did. "That young Tattoo Master is indeed someone with skills." Si Ming unlocked the chains on his daughter and said, "This afternoon, we’ll go bask in the sun and enjoy the flowers in the courtyard!" "I don’t want to go; I never know when I might go mad again." "It’s okay, Dad is with you, even if you go mad, it won’t matter." Even if Yuer went mad, with Si Ming there, he could ensure she wouldn’t hurt anyone. "Then... then let’s go!" Yuer grinned again, got off the bed, washed up, and stayed in the courtyard with Si Ming. Years of madness had not worn away Yuer’s cheerfulness. She chatted with her father about amusing childhood stories, thoroughly enjoying herself, laughing heartily rather than concealing it like most women. Some servants of the Si Family passing by the south courtyard, hearing Yuer’s laughter, felt sad: "Ah, such a pity, to be struck with such madness at a young age, the heavens are unforgiving." Si Ming stayed with Yuer as they basked in the sun. After the sun set, they admired the fiery clouds. When the fiery clouds dispersed, they began to appreciate the moon... Finally, Yuer grew sleepy, and Si Ming carried her to bed, hanging the "Buddha’s Head" tattoo on the wall. He hadn’t expected that, in the course of an afternoon plus a night, his daughter remained sane throughout. When she laughed, Si Ming found himself somewhat dazed, as if time had returned to four years ago. "What a great tattoo! That Tattoo Master is truly capable." Si Ming muttered, rubbing his hands, and headed toward the north courtyard. There was a side room in the north courtyard, a room that was guarded any time of day. "Master!" Seeing Si Ming enter, two men dressed in long robes rose to greet him. Si Ming acknowledged with a "Hmm," opened the door, and walked in. Two iron chains hung in the center of the room. The ends of the chains bore sharp iron hooks. Two hooks pierced through a woman’s collarbones, suspending her. Not far off, two maids with whips were lashing at the woman’s back, one strike after another. "Take a break for now." Si Ming halted the maids and went up to the suspended woman. "Qing Lan, there is hope for curing Yuer’s Blood Well Madness." "How is it being treated?" "With a tattoo," Si Ming said, "The Ancient Tattoo Clan has emerged; I found a Tattoo Master from the Ancient Clan, and a Buddha’s Head tattoo has cured Yuer’s madness." "I will go see that tattoo later, but I have yet to finish my lessons." Duan Qinglan glanced at the two maids. The maids resumed the whipping, ruthlessly lashing Duan Qinglan’s back. The Si Mansion bore the surname Si, yet the true master of the mansion was this Duan Qinglan, currently being tortured with hooks through her bones, suspended and flogged...