Chapter 27: Secrets of the Ji Family

One year ago, a massive fire broke out in the Jing'an Building. It incinerated the warehouses on the three underground levels and claimed several lives. Since then, rumors of the place being haunted have persisted. Those three floors have remained unrentable and unsellable ever since. Many wealthy bosses are staunch believers in Feng Shui and metaphysics, and they are quite generous with their money. The wealthy socialite who recently purchased the property wanted to hire a professional to handle the matter. Ji Huaichuan’s job is to clear out those lingering, stubborn ghosts.

…

Level B2. This was the floor where people had burned to death. The workers had already cleared out all the construction debris, leaving only the empty steel and concrete skeleton and a few faint scorch marks. Since he was already there, Ji Yun helped his third uncle with the chores. Being his own nephew, Ji Huaichuan didn't stand on ceremony when ordering him around.

"Yun, boy, help me set out the offerings."

"Right, put the roasted pig in the center."

"Yes, yes, that's it. Pour the wine."

"..."

Ji Yun followed his instructions, placing the offerings in the open space and setting up an incense table and an altar. Ji Huaichuan, dressed in Taoist robes, took up a peach-wood sword, shook a copper bell, and began to pace out the ritual steps, chanting scriptures to transcend the wandering souls while circling the fire basin.

Ji Yun helped arrange the altar and then watched his third uncle perform the ritual. In hindsight, he realized that most of the older generation had always believed in the existence of ghosts and gods; the younger generation had simply dismissed them as old-fashioned and superstitious. Now, it seemed that the world as the elders understood it was the true reality.

Ji Yun believed it now, too. He was curious if there were really ghosts in this building. He stared for a long time but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Watching his third uncle, who would draw talismans one moment and brandish his sword the next, Ji Yun couldn't see anything about him that resembled a transcendent being.

After an hour of this, his third uncle was panting with exhaustion. He stopped, walked over to sit beside Ji Yun, and grabbed a bottle of mineral water, gulping down half of it.

"Third Uncle," Ji Yun asked curiously, "can this really transcend ghosts?" He had been observing closely, thinking that if this method worked, he could try it himself the next time he encountered a ghost.

"Of course it can," Ji Huaichuan replied with certainty. "The dead are just like the living; once they are fed and watered, their obsessions fade. After all, once you're dead, you have no further ties to the mortal world. This transcendence ritual is like giving them a good meal and greasing the wheels for their journey to the underworld. Generally speaking, they are willing to leave."

"Oh." Ji Yun didn't doubt him, then asked, "What if they aren't willing to leave? Like, a vengeful spirit or something?" He thought of the ghost bride from the ruins. A spirit with that much resentment would certainly not be willing to be transcended by a simple ritual.

To his surprise, his third uncle looked dismissive and shared his own empirical wisdom: "Where are there so many vengeful spirits in the world? Most supernatural events are just the result of people's own inner demons."

Ji Yun persisted, "But what if we really do encounter one?"

Ji Huaichuan, that old rascal, replied, "What else can we do? Wait for the funeral banquet." Not someone else's funeral, but his own.

"..." Hearing this unreliable answer, Ji Yun rubbed his temples. His third uncle was quite different from the master of arcane arts he had imagined.

Filled with anticipation, Ji Yun probed further, "Third Uncle, don't you know any Taoist arts?"

Without a second thought, Ji Huaichuan’s reply was firm: "No."

Ji Yun cast a side-eye, his expression clearly skeptical, as if to say, "I know the truth, don't try to lie to me."

Ji Huaichuan didn't catch the look, but he added, "Your grandfather knew a few tricks with talismans and earth spells, but by the time it got down to your third uncle... I didn't learn them. The little bit of fluff I did pick up, I've pretty much forgotten."

Since his father was a master of the arts, it made sense that his grandfather would know them too. Ji Yun was speechless, yet still hopeful. "You didn't learn them, Third Uncle?"

Ji Huaichuan glanced at him, seemingly noticing the expectation in his eyes, and grumbled, "Kid, do you think just anyone can learn Taoist arts?"

He continued to enlighten him: "Ordinary people entering the path of cultivation must cultivate merit and fortune. It requires a specific temperament, character, and aptitude—all are indispensable. To truly enter the gate of the arcane, it takes over a decade just to reach a basic understanding, and another ten or twenty years of breathing exercises to condense a sliver of magical power. By the time you achieve something, half your life is already gone. As your grandfather used to say, spiritual energy is withered now, ghosts and monsters don't manifest, and those with real ability are all hiding in the mountains guarding that little bit of energy. Who has the time to come to the city and mess around with these things?"

"..." Ji Yun watched his third uncle, whose tone didn't sound like he was joking, and felt confused. His third uncle knew ghosts existed and was aware of Taoist arts and cultivators. But he seemed genuinely unaware of the "supernatural resurgence." He also didn't seem to know that one could become a transcendent being by fusing with "evil objects."

Ji Yun sent a quick text to Hua Ling to confirm: "Sister Hua Ling, is my third uncle not a transcendent?"

Hua Ling replied quickly: "He is not."

Ji Yun finally gave up on that thought. But according to the old woman Chen Changqing, his parents were masters of the arts, so how could his third uncle not be one? What was his parents' intention in telling him to find his third uncle?

...

Just then, Ji Huaichuan finally remembered something and asked, "Right, what were you saying earlier? What happened to your parents?"

"They went missing." Ji Yun took the photo out of his pocket.

"Missing?" A flash of seriousness crossed Ji Huaichuan's face. He looked at the black-and-white photo and let out a soft exclamation: "Where did your parents go? Why is there a steam train?"

"I don't know." Ji Yun didn't know where to start. "They sent this photo and told me to come find you, Third Uncle."

Ji Huaichuan sounded puzzled, muttering to himself, "Hmm... this train looks familiar. I feel like I've seen it somewhere." He looked at the message on the back, but couldn't make sense of it either. "Let’s wait until I finish the job today. I'll ask around for you."

"Oh." Hearing that tone, Ji Yun couldn't say what was wrong, but he didn't know what else to say. He figured his parents must have had their reasons for sending him to his third uncle.

Ji Huaichuan asked, "You said there was also a black marriage contract sent with it? And it was burned?"

"Yes." Ji Yun described the black marriage certificate and repeated its contents. He then asked, "Third Uncle, does that black paper marriage contract have any special use?"

According to the old woman, it was to help him fuse with the Ji family’s special-grade evil object, the "Ghost Gate Coffin." But after the marriage certificate burned, Ji Yun felt that things weren't over. He hadn't expected his third uncle to know, but to his surprise, Ji Huaichuan thought for a moment, and his expression turned grave.

"A Yin Marriage Contract," he said in a deep voice. "It was to extend your life."

Ji Yun realized his third uncle knew much more than he did. But to his shock, Ji Huaichuan added, "Yin Marriage Contracts are an ancient folk secret art, similar to 'chongxi' (a ritual to cure illness by marrying); they are used to supplement Yin-merit and store Yang-energy to extend a person's life. However, this secret art was lost a long time ago. I haven't heard of anyone successfully using it for at least a century."

Ji Yun was bewildered. "Extend my life?" He wasn't surprised that the Yin marriage had that effect, having just witnessed a *chongxi* in the ruins, but how did it become about extending *his* life?

"Yes." Ji Huaichuan nodded, then looked at Ji Yun and gave an unexpected reason: "It means you were going to die. Your parents arranged it for you."

"???" Ji Yun's eyes widened. It was as if he had heard something impossible. He pointed to his nose and repeated, "I was going to die?"

Ji Huaichuan, as if he had anticipated this, countered, "Hasn't your father told you that we Ji family members don't live long?"

Ji Yun was even more confused. How did they go from talking about a marriage contract to short lifespans? "Huh? There's such a thing?"

Ji Huaichuan looked at Ji Yun's expression and muttered, "It seems your father really didn't tell you anything." He seemed to understand why his brother hadn't told him: "Your great-grandfather lived to fifty-seven, your grandfather to fifty-one, and your uncle died at thirty-eight. Our Ji family's lifespan is only half that of a normal person. I thought you would at least make it to forty or fifty, but I didn't expect it to be this early."

"..." Ji Yun was completely stunned. He realized it was true; his grandfather and uncle had both died young. He hadn't felt it when he was a child, but hearing it now, something felt wrong. Although his family worked in the folklore industry, Ji Yun had received a modern education from a young age and didn't believe in ghosts or gods. He didn't know what his elders were capable of, assuming it was all just dregs of the old era. Now, it seemed there were many secrets.

Ji Huaichuan added, "The party that signed the marriage contract is using their own Yin-merit and fortune to extend your life. You should be content, kid. As long as the contract exists, your fates are linked. The price is not small. I don't know how your parents convinced them. Anyone who can bear this karma isn't just an ordinary person."

Ji Yun knew that Chen Changqing was no ordinary person; she was a true master of the arts. He agreed with his third uncle, but he was more curious about his previous question. "Third Uncle, why do we Ji family members have such short lives?"

The average life expectancy in the country had already passed seventy. He couldn't understand why the Ji family, living on the plains, would have such short lifespans. He had assumed it was a genetic issue or a hereditary disease.

But then, his third uncle dropped another bombshell.

Ji Huaichuan seemed equally frustrated and puzzled by this question. He sighed, "What else could it be? Your ancestor grave-robbed and squandered our Yin-merit."

The "ancestor" here referred to his great-great-grandfather. He was a forefather whose name Ji Yun didn't even remember. Calculating the age, he must have lived in the late years of the previous dynasty. When Ji Yun heard the word "grave-robbing," his expression became as speechless as his uncle's. He suddenly felt the plot was strangely familiar. In the ruins last night, wasn't Liu Yuancai of the Liu Manor in the exact same situation? He had robbed a grave, squandered his Yin-merit, and his descendants had been cut off. Ji Yun never expected his own ancestor to have done such a thing.

He quickly asked, "Whose grave did our ancestor rob?"

Normally, to cut short the lives of several generations of descendants, the amount of Yin-merit squandered must have been immense. Could it have been a major tomb recorded in the history books?

Ji Huaichuan shrugged, "How would I know? Your grandfather just said that's what his father told him." He thought for a moment and added, "But there might be more to it. Even in the famine years, craftsmen didn't go hungry. The coffin-making craft passed down in our family meant we were never drafted for labor; we always had a meal to eat in the old days. Your grandfather once looked for the reason, wanting to break this 'short-life curse'... but I rarely stayed at home, so I don't know what the old man figured out. Your father should know more."

He stopped, checked the time, picked up the peach-wood sword, and said, "It's time. I have to go perform the ritual."

His third uncle went back to the transcendence ritual, leaving Ji Yun alone, lost in a whirlwind of confusion.