Bitter Sea

the steps, just one step away from the water.Mu Wanchen reached out and took my hand on the steps, asking with some resignation, "Do you really have to be bait yourself""Or will you come then Ordinar...In this circle, there are inheritances of different paths: monasticism, Daoism, and the secular. I only started to understand something about folk practices after meeting Mu Wanchen, but they differ in various places, with different traditions passed down.

As a layman, I haven't delved deeply into Buddhism and wouldn't dare comment on it. Nowadays, many people claim to be "Buddhists" but most have only skimmed Buddhist scriptures or read some classics without engaging in serious transmission.

While Taoism adheres to the principle of "寧可無傳，不可妄傳" (It's better not to transmit, than to transmit falsely), placing great emphasis on lineage.

It is rare for practitioners to preach widely, preferring instead solitary practice in seclusion. Therefore, one often sees people labeling themselves as "Buddhist" but rarely as "Taoist".

The saying about "passing on" skills is not only found in folk beliefs, but also in certain Taoist schools, where it is called "passing on teachings."

This generally takes place between a master and apprentice, primarily used to open up meridians and pass down martial arts techniques.

The first step in the process is "closing the body."

Different schools and sects have their own ways of bestowing official positions, generally involving leaving a mark on the body called a "official seal", as well as other methods such as swallowing talismans or blood transmission.

My father and Mrs. Xue, as a married couple, naturally know what kind of special marks are on each other's bodies. Therefore, Mrs. Xue's abilities should be inherited from the current old woman—my great-grandmother.

Back in her younger days, she even dared to fight the Dragon King. Now, she's probably just skin and bones left. The last time she saw the Dragon King's serpent spirit, she summoned her natal蠱 with a desperate look on her face.

"I said, Little Luo'er, this is your own mother. Why do you always call her 'Ms. Xue,' Ms. Xue'" Dad glared at me disapprovingly.

"It's natural for you to address her affectionately since you have feelings for her. I don't have any feelings for her, so why should I be so familiar with her Calling her Ms. Xue is already being polite, alright Or are you just looking out for me" I scoffed.

"You—" Old Dad glared with fury.

Just get mad, who told you to be so incompetent that you couldn't keep your wife at home You let me and my sister grow up in a "single-parent family."

My elder brother reached out and pressed on my head, twisting me to the side.

"How do you speak to your master" he whispered angrily.

I puffed out my cheeks and craned my neck forty-five degrees to look at the sky.

“Looking at your arrogant appearance…” The eldest brother sighed and turned to my father, “Master, don’t worry first. Let’s put these household matters aside for now. What’s most urgent is to have the hospital check Madam's body and see what injuries she sustained. If it’s possible to go home, we can return home and perform the soul-calling ritual. Hospitals are crowded with people and not convenient. Plus, the hospital’s energy field is unfavorable.”

My father listened to my eldest brother's words and nodded in agreement. "You're right," he said, "We should first—"

Before the words could leave his mouth, a nurse interrupted us and told us to go into the ward.

The doctor pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and said to us, "This patient is currently in a state of severe coma. There are head injuries, but there's no serious condition that would cause her to fall into a coma... Considering what you've told us before, about her personal trip resulting in falling into a river and being washed ashore, we suspect she hit her head while floating in the river..."

...These are all made up, aren't they

I dared not speak, and stole a glance at Ms. Xue lying on the bed inside.

She wouldn't die so easily. Living in a village with people possessed by ghosts, she would never fall so easily.

“We suggest using an awakening therapy, stimulating senses with touch and electroacupuncture... There was a child who was in a coma for half a month and was successfully awakened. This isn't difficult.”

The issue is whether the child has actually left their body.

"What do you think" the doctor politely asked my father.

My father is quite well-known in the TCM circle in our city. It seems this doctor knows him.

My father shook his head and said, “Please check her bodily functions and injuries first. I’ll take care of waking her up… If it’s possible, let me take her home first. We still have plenty of high-grade An Palace Niuhuang Pills at home.”

Angelica sinensis pills, used for clearing heat and detoxification, calming shock and opening orifices. It can also be used for febrile diseases, exogenous pathogens entering the heart sac, high fever convulsions, delirium and incoherent speech; stroke coma and encephalitis, meningitis, toxic encephalopathy, cerebral hemorrhage, sepsis... It feels like a must-have medicine at home.

My father has been concocting countless pills and hiding them over the years. Now, he wishes to use them all on his wife.

"Your medicine is definitely better than ours at the hospital... But she still has external wounds. I saw a wound on her palm..." The doctor pleaded repeatedly, "And hyperbaric oxygen is very useful for comatose patients. It's best to stay in the hospital for treatment."

Dad frowned slightly, "We need to go home and perform a soul-calling ritual!" He couldn't say it directly, but the doctor made sense. After all, when it comes to physical health, hospital treatment is still necessary.

“Why don’t we rent the medical equipment and take it home That way, she can receive treatment and rest at home, and it will be more convenient for family members to take care of her.” The eldest brother suggested.

The doctor was stunned and shook his head hurriedly. "No, no, these medical instruments cannot be moved out of the hospital."

The elder brother acted as if he hadn't heard, lowering his head to take out his phone and directly call the hospital director.

Private hospitals are so convenient. If you have the right connections and money, you can enjoy some special services.

Renting expensive equipment isn't out of the question, as long as the hospital has surplus equipment. Ms. Xue only needs high-pressure oxygen and some basic monitoring devices, some of which I already have at home.

Soon, we made it back home. My father went straight to his room and stayed there, tending to my mother with all his heart.

I wonder how many years it's been since she came back. She's still so devoted, once she makes up her mind, she'll stubbornly go down a blind alley and won't turn back even if she hits a wall.

Mrs. Xue could be considered abandoning her husband and daughter, yet you're still so deeply in love. No wonder your stocks have lost so much!

Of course, I can complain and grumble, but my father is still the head of the household. It's natural for him to take care of his wife, and all the senior brothers and sisters are gathered around師孃

attending to her better than I, their daughter.

I don't think I'm needed at home to cause any trouble, so I told my eldest brother that I was going on a long trip and asked him to lend me his car. Also, I asked for a new phone.

The eldest brother rubbed his temples in pain: "Little sister, little ancestor, tell me, this is the how manyth time you've changed your phone"

“I awkwardly scratched my head: 'Maybe my phone and I just aren't meant to be...'”

"Do you still want a car from me I'm giving it away!"

“Then I have to go on a journey.”

"Where are you going again You used to just stay at home all day, why are you suddenly putting yourself in so much danger You run around everywhere now, getting hurt and scared every time. Why do you keep going out Is something wrong at home" My elder brother couldn't help but frown and scold me.

He must have been putting up with me for a long time.

I dare not speak back, I can only patiently explain. The Emperor asked me to go to Qingyu Taoist Temple, and said that he would have my junior wife accompany me. Luohu Xingjun has also disappeared, so they must already have a way to enter the mausoleum.

I wouldn't waste a second, if it weren't for carrying Ms. Xue back, I'd probably just walk past my own house and not even stop.

My older sister, with red-rimmed eyes, said to me: “Mom’s in this state right now, how can you still have the heart to go on a trip Even if she's not good, she's still your flesh and blood. Don't you worry about her”

"...Nothing to worry about, old man will find a way to cure her, she won't die."

"How can you say that She's our mom!" My sister shouted angrily at me.owed, and soon arrived at the end—TheTian Emperor Gouchen, the third-highest deity among the "Four Imperial Guards" in the Nine Heavens.The supreme ruler of all spirits, controlling Heaven, Earth, and...