Part-Time Taoist Priest 19

Returning Soul

Hai Guanchao rented the shop on the street behind the temple. When applying for a business license, he registered the name “Taisu Clinic”. The clinic he previously ran, which he had inherited from his family, wasn’t called Taisu Clinic, but in order to avoid troubles from the past from catching up, he decided to change it to this name.

Xie Lingya suggested that he use his own name. “I see many pharmacies and clinics using the name of the proprietor, like Li Meihua Clinic, Wang Jianguo Clinic, and so on. Your name sounds a bit better than theirs.”

However, Hai Guanchao wasn’t interested in printing his own name on signboards. Taisu Pulse wasn’t actually the main method he used when he practiced medicine. He just registered the name on a whim.

Other than applying for permits and licenses, he needed to prepare the interior and medicinal supplies like herbs, drugs and remedies. It took some time to get everything done. It also used up most of Hai Guanchao’s savings. A month passed before the clinic was ready for its grand opening, and this with Xie Lingya’s help.

The clinic was just diagonally across from the temple. Xie Lingya also upheld his promise. The temple’s back gate was left open with a sign indicating the entryway to Taisu Clinic. The uninformed passersby who saw the signboard in front thought they had rented out a part of their temple to a clinic as was the case with the newspaper stand before.

Xie Lingya had actually considered that option. If Wang Yuji hadn’t managed to find a haunted shop, would he have emptied some space in the temple grounds for Hai Guanchao? His answer was that he very likely would have!

But things had changed. The number of worshippers at Baoyang Temple had increased exponentially compared to before, and there were more residents living within the temple grounds nowadays. There really wasn’t much more room.

Moreover, if he had really made space for Hai Guanchao, the venerable founder might have been angered. Due to the space constraint, the founder was still only staying in the side hall!

Anyway, Taisu Clinic had finally opened and they held a private celebration.

At first, only nearby residents came to buy some medicine at the clinic. These folks already regularly used herbal medication, so when they saw a new traditional Chinese clinic had opened up, they came to check out the stock of herbs and medication. It would be much more convenient to get their medication there.

Hai Guanchao’s business acumen had always been good, otherwise, he wouldn’t have attracted the jealousy of his peers in the last city. Xie Lingya was studying the Taisu Pulse under Hai Guanchao, so he would head over whenever he was free. He saw firsthand how Hai Guanchao was able to convince people who were only planning to buy herbs to become his patients.

Hai Guanchao could accurately deduce their medical history and cause of illness from the patients’ appearance, pallor, and the medicine they were taking. 

Seeing that he was only around 30 years old and did not look like an old experienced traditional physician, many were originally unconvinced. However, once he accurately described their conditions, they were impressed.

So when Hai Guanchao suggested checking their pulse, they didn’t mind. Next, he gave them a treatment plan. If the patient felt that it was better than their original treatment, then they were successfully converted. The rest depended on the effectiveness of the treatment.

Hai Guanchao told Xie Lingya, sometimes, if he felt that the patient still had doubts, he would use physiognomy, as in the Taisu Pulse, to determine that patient’s past experience.

Traditional Chinese medicine followed the principle of Prevention Over Cure. Physiognomy also allowed Hai Guanchao to accurately predict potential illnesses the patient might suffer in the future.

“It seems that you had a near-drowning experience when you were thirteen years old,” Hai Guanchao said while taking the pulse of one patient. The patient was absolutely astonished. He wondered if the drowning had incurred some long-term effects, and at the same time, he felt that Hai Guanchao must be a miracle doctor.

The patients were here for the medical expertise, while Xie Lingya was here for the physiognomy expertise. The Taisu Pulse was really extraordinary. Many different physiognomy skills were mentioned in Baoyang’s notes. Among these, the Taisu Pulse was the most unique, since it was performed via reading the pulse.

Xie Lingya’s knowledge on the subject used to be superficial, and he could only, at most, perform some face reading. After he witnessed the abilities of the Taisu Pulse, his passion for learning the skill rose even more.

Hai Guanchao felt a little proud of himself. He believed his shigong title was almost certain.

The Taisu Pulse’s changes and transformations were too numerous. For him to just explain each change and show some case examples would take more than a month. Moreover, external factors such as the season and weather also needed to be considered.

It had  taken him several months to build his own foundation when he was younger, and only after that did he try pulse reading. Now, Xie Lingya would need to remember everything and be able to put it into practice.

Xie Lingya was out replenishing the temple’s stock of talismans and charms when a patient visited Taisu Clinic.

A woman came in carrying a child about seven or eight years old. Although the child’s eyes were open, they were dull and lifeless. Hai Guanchao took one look and felt something was off. “This child of yours…”

“My son is here to see the doctor. You are Doctor Hai, is that right?” The woman placed the child on a chair. The child kept the exact posture the woman left him in without moving at all. Only his eyes moved occasionally, like those of a wooden doll. “I heard my neighbor say that you are a highly skilled doctor. I don’t know what happened to my son, he just suddenly… stopped speaking. I’ve brought him to many hospitals but they couldn’t find out what’s wrong. I’ve tried both western medicine and Chinese medicine.”

The woman looked anxious and tired. It seemed like she had been under a lot of stress lately. She was also reluctant to use words like “crazy”, only saying that the boy stopped speaking.

When Hai Guanchao asked her to provide more details, the woman explained, “It was on the night of the 16th, around 9 p.m. I remember it clearly. I was preparing supper on the stove. My son was playing nearby. Then, he spilled some salt on the floor, so I got agitated and scolded him, and he suddenly fainted. He had no fever but he became like this after waking up. He doesn’t speak, or eat, or go to the bathroom by himself. His father and I have been taking leaves in turns in order to take care of him. We went to many hospitals but it was of no use at all.”

“Let me check his pulse first,” Hai Guanchao took the child’s pulse without revealing his thoughts.

His family had been physicians for generations, and he had also encountered some inexplicable cases. From his personal experience and medical knowledge, no matter how he looked at it, this boy didn’t look like he was sick. Rather, he looked like he had lost his soul.

The human souls consisted of three hun and seven po.¹T/N: In Chinese beliefs, there exist three heavenly souls, hun, and seven earthly souls, po, in the human body. When a person dies, these souls are thought to leave the body. If a living person loses one of these souls, they could fall ill, go mad, or experience other maladies. If the soul was not complete, naturally, all sorts of problems would arise, with the most common symptom being going mad or crazy. There were many reasons why one could lose a soul but the most important thing was to get it back in time.

Some doctors in the hospital may be able to recognize these cases and would discreetly advise the patients to seek help from those with experience in such spiritual matters. However, for obvious reasons, fewer and fewer doctors could recognize these cases at present.

Hai Guanchao did not voice his suspicion immediately. Instead, he asked, “What did the previous doctors say?”

“I brought the medical report. Sigh, it’s all the same, saying they are not sure and recommend going to a bigger hospital. They are all just making guesses, it’s a bit like this, a bit like that, but none of them know for sure.”

The woman handed the medical report to Hai Guanchao and continued, “There was even a relative who asked me to go see a witch doctor and retrieve his soul. Totally ridiculous. I hate these types of superstitions.”

Hai Guanchao, who was just about to recommend Baoyang Temple to her: “……”

The woman called out to him anxiously, “Doctor Hai?”

“Your son had chickenpox when he was three years old but he recovered quickly. He has the body type of Lesser Yang so it is difficult for him to endure the summer heat. He particularly likes having cold drinks and therefore he often has an upset stomach,” Hai Guanchao focused his attention and spoke slowly.

“Yes! Yes!” The woman remembered that her neighbor said Doctor Hai was very accurate in his diagnosis and it was true. Her son loved cold drinks, but ever since he fell ill, he didn’t even drink water.

After Hai Guanchao got her trust, he said, “This illness of his was caused by sudden fright. I have a friend who knows some folk remedies that might work. Would you like to give it a try?”

The woman didn’t know what “folk remedy” meant, but she nodded subconsciously, “Let’s try it!”

She was out of ideas. The hospitals couldn’t diagnose him and they didn’t dare prescribe any medication. She was at her wit’s end and was just aimlessly looking for a cure like a headless chicken. Now that someone suggested that they might have a way, she would seize it like a drowning man would clutch at a raft. As long as the remedy wasn’t something too extreme, she would be optimistic and give it a shot.

Hai Guanchao called Xie Lingya on the phone, asking that he come over. He only said, “I have a patient here. Her son had a fright and now cannot speak or take care of himself. Your uncle taught you some folk remedy, didn’t he? Come over and see if it is of any use.”

At first, Xie Lingya on the other end was totally clueless. Then he quickly realized it was most likely a patient who had a supernatural encounter but couldn’t mention it directly for some reason.

There were many people like Bai Lu these days who didn’t believe in the supernatural. If you told them the truth they wouldn’t believe it and it would make matters worse.

Xie Lingya agreed and hurried over to Taisu Clinic. “Doctor Hai.”

The woman thought that Dr. Hai was quite young, and now the person he called over was even younger. But since the remedy was handed down by his seniors, it should still be ok.

“It is this young boy. Come and take a look,” Hai Guanchao said.

Xie Lingya held the child up in a standing position on the chair. After a close examination, he also thought it looked like a case of a lost soul. He knew he couldn’t tell the mother this directly, so he said he needed to discuss things with Hai Guanchao first.

Although the woman was curious, she did not stop them when they left the room to speak.

“How did he lose his soul?” Xie Lingya asked.

Hai Guanchao repeated what the woman told him, then asked, “What do you think was the cause? Because his mom gave him a scare when she scolded him?”

“That’s not likely. Are children these days so fragile? He looks healthy though.” Xie Lingya remembered Hai Guanchao mentioned something about the woman cooking in front of the stove. A thought flashed by in his mind but he didn’t catch it. “It is more important to figure out how to retrieve the kid’s soul. His mom doesn’t believe in these things, would she agree to a ceremony?”

There were many ways in both folk and Taoist practices to retrieve a soul. Xie Lingya also knew some of them from his involvement in this business but if the parent was not supportive, it would be difficult. Many of the methods involved some specialized tools. It would be immediately recognized as the more technical part of Taoism.

“Do you have anything that can be disguised as a ‘folk remedy’? Something with maybe less rituals?” Hai Guanchao asked.

“……” Xie Lingya thought back to all he knew. “So no talismans?”

Hai Guanchao shook his head. “That’s too obvious. Probably not good.”

The two turned to look at the woman, smiled awkwardly, and turned away again. “We really can’t tell her the truth?”

“If we tell her the truth she would probably leave immediately…” Hai Guanchao replied.

Xie Lingya quickly took out his cellphone, deciding to take a last-minute look at the Baoyang Temple’s notes.

Hai Guanchao asked curiously, “What are you doing?”

“Oh, these are notes. I’m looking to see if there’s anything useful,” Xie Lingya said. “Go have a chat with the mom. Calm her down.”

“Hm…” Hai Guanchao took another look at Xie Lingya scanning through the notes. He thought, This kid’s foundation is too weak. He can’t even remember his studies and needs to refer to notes. 

But he didn’t dwell on it much and went back into the room. He told the woman that his friend still needed some time to think and took the opportunity to take the woman’s pulse instead.

Xie Lingya went through his notes for five minutes and actually found something. There was a method that he thought they could try. Returning to the room, he said, “I have a relatively easy treatment that we can try but we need the mother’s help.”

The woman was stunned by Hai Guanchao’s miraculous diagnosis from the pulse-taking. She didn’t have any hesitation now. “What do you need me to do?”

“Doctor Hai, please prepare some roots of Dutchman’s pipes and Lysimachia, and boil water for later use. I will give the boy a massage. The mother will need to stand next to us and pinch the boy’s finger while biting down on her own finger.”

Xie Lingya noticed the woman looked confused at his instructions, so he quickly added, “The old remedies said so. I think, during the massage, if the child hears that his mother is in pain, he will subconsciously react.”

The woman was convinced by his explanation. “Ok, ok.”

This was the most non-superstitious looking method that Xie Lingya could think of.

Other ways involved burning joss paper, talismans, setting up altars, and some folk practices even required the mother to shout for the soul. The woman would probably be speechless if they tried that.

As the old saying went, mother and child were linked by the heart. There was also a saying that the heart knew when the finger was bitten. That was to say, if a mother bit her own finger, the child could feel it in his heart and he would return home early.

—This worked in the same way as other folk practices where the mother called out for the child’s soul, though one was calling out to the soul by sound, and the other by action.

Xie Lingya pretended to massage the child’s head. When the woman started to bite her finger, he even told her to bite harder.

The woman was nervous and broke the skin of her finger in her haste. She yelled in pain.

“…Wandering spirit, wherever you are, summon the soul, return to your form. Gates of Heaven and Earth be open, the Gods send the soul forward…” Xie Lingya quickly recited the Soul Retrieving Spell under his breath.

Without the use of talismans or hand seals, just reciting the Soul Retrieving Spell might not necessarily work. The lost soul would not know how to return to the body by just hearing the summoning of the spell. That was why Xie Lingya asked the woman to bite her finger. With the blood bond between mother and son, the child’s soul would be guided in the right direction.

The woman held her bleeding finger and heard Xie Lingya chant something. Before she could make out what it was, the child who had been silent for days suddenly started crying out loud.

“Haohao!” The woman was overjoyed. She didn’t tend to her own bleeding finger but held the boy’s face instead. “Haohao, do you remember mommy?”

The child looked at his mother’s face and suddenly hugged her. “Mom—”

The woman cried tears of joy when she heard her son.

Xie Lingya let out a sigh of relief next to them. The method was half invented by him, and thankfully it worked. Quickly, he used the water boiled with the root of Dutchman’s pipes and Lysimachia to wipe the child’s face, removing the filth and setting the soul.

Hai Guanchao took out a first aid kit to stop the bleeding on the woman’s finger.

The woman was still holding onto her son with one hand. Still sobbing, she thanked Hai Guanchao and Xie Lingya, “Doctor Hai, young man, thank you. Thank you, so, so much! I don’t know what else to say! Really, thank you so much!

“It is a small matter. Please don’t cry. The boy is fine now.” Xie Lingya patted the child. In a groggy voice, the boy said, “Mommy, I feel dizzy, like I slept for a long time. Am I sick?”

“No, Haohao is not sick anymore,” the woman comforted.

The boy looked up at her and asked, “Why did I fall sick?”

The woman answered him tearily, “Mommy scared you.”

An idea flashed in Xie Lingya’s mind. He asked, “Madam, did someone in the family pass away recently?”

The woman looked up in surprise at Xie Lingya.

Her reaction was an affirmative answer. Xie Lingya’s suspicions were confirmed.

Now that woman was calmer, she thought of the so-called folk remedy, Xie Lingya’s intelligible muttering, and his question if someone in the family had passed away. Suddenly it felt creepy. But the woman didn’t want to believe her own suspicion.

Xie Lingya had no intention of elaborating. He simply said, “Doctor Hai, please write the child another prescription for replenishing the vitality.”

Hai Guanchao murmured in agreement. He wrote a prescription on a piece of paper and prepared the medicine.

The boy had just regained consciousness and was still weak. He leaned on his mother and fell asleep. When Hai Guanchao was done with the medication, the woman carried the boy in her arms. With some hesitation, she said to Xie Lingya, “Thank you, young man… Um, can you tell me why Haohao got scared? His grandma passed away not too long ago.”

Xie Lingya and Hai Guanchao exchanged a glance. It should be fine telling her the truth now. The child had already recovered and it did not matter if she believed them or not.

So, Xie Lingya explained, “There used to be what was known as huisa or chuyang, you can understand it as ‘Returning Soul’.²T/N: 回煞 huisa，出殃 chuyang or 回魂 huihun are names for the same event. In Chinese traditions, when a person dies, they are thought to return to their homes a final time before heading to the Underworld, this is known as huihunye or Night of the Returning Soul. Traditionally, the family members stay in their rooms during the event to avoid offending the returning spirit. Depending on local customs and particular religious sects, the huihun is thought to occur on the First Seventh Day after death, or a particular time that could be calculated by priests. An important aspect of Chinese death traditions is ‘seven days’. Prayers and rites of different functionalities are held every seven days from the day of death up till the 49th day. However, this wasn’t only on the seventh day after passing. The time of huisa needed to be calculated was according to the time of death of the deceased. During huisa, everyone in the household, especially children, should leave and avoid the house. This is because the spirit of the deceased is wandering in the house, and if someone encounters it, they could lose their soul or even die.”

The woman was dumbfounded. She obviously couldn’t digest such information immediately.

Xie Lingya stared at her and continued, “There is another custom regarding huisa. If the family wants to know what the deceased will be reincarnated to in their next life, they can sprinkle some ashes in front of the stove, because the spirit’s last destination is to venerate the stove.³T/N: In Chinese traditions, the Kitchen God or Stove God, 灶君, is an important household god. It is believed that the Stove God returns to Heaven and reports the household’s affair to the Jade Emperor before the Chinese New Years. When the family returns, they can see foot imprints on the ashes.”

He ended the explanation there. In fact, there were some more details, such as markings of hemp rope or metal chains representing the severity of the spirit’s sins. If the sins were heinous, they would come back with shackles on their feet.

The footprints would not necessarily be human. It could also be other animals, representing what the spirit would reincarnate into in their next life.

Xie Lingya hesitated for a moment before saying, “If we do a reverse calculation, based on the time of the huisa, the family member should have passed around eight o’clock at night, 17 days ago.”

There was a mantra for calculating the time of the huisa. Xie Lingya had of course seen the mantra but this was the first time he used the calculation.

“…Oh my god!” The woman covered her mouth in shock. Her mother-in-law did indeed pass away 17 days ago. The time was accurate as well. It would be impossible for an outsider like Xie Lingya to know such details beforehand.

And the woman remembered that she was cooking supper right in front of the stove when her son was spooked. The boy had knocked the salt onto the floor, wasn’t that functionally just like ashes?

“Don’t be too worried. One who survives a great disaster is destined for good fortune later. I see that your son’s philtrum is deep and his features are full. These are signs of good fortune,” Xie Lingya comforted her, seeing how frightened she got.

It had to be said that the woman felt consoled. She was incredibly trusting in Xie Lingya and Hai Guanchao now. She thanked them again, “Young man… No, Master, I am truly grateful. Thank you both! Where can I find you if I need help again?”

Xie Lingya pointed outside. “I’m in Baoyang Temple just opposite here.”

The woman was stunned for a moment. Holding her son, she bowed and started babbling, “Ok, ok. I’ll remember that. I will visit Master there in the future.”

She lived just nearby. How could she not have heard of the infamous Baoyang Temple? But she had never believed in such things. Even though people had repeatedly talked about it, she thought it was too far-fetched.

When Xie Lingya mentioned that he was from Baoyang Temple, the woman instantly made the connection with all that she had heard before. She felt even more astonished.

A few days later, the woman brought her whole family to Baoyang Temple to express their gratitude. In those few days, she had brought her son to the hospital again for a medical check-up and confirmed that he was healthy.

Although none of her other family members had witnessed with their own eyes what had happened, upon hearing her retelling of the event, they regarded Xie Lingya with respect. Especially when they met him in person and saw how young he was.

That day in the clinic, the woman had only paid a consultation fee. After discussing with her family, they decided to give Xie Lingya a red envelope with two thousand yuan inside.

Retrieving a soul didn’t cost that much. Xie Lingya’s uncle even used to do it for free. But since they had especially come over to give it to him, Xie Lingya feared that they would not feel at ease if he declined. So, he accepted the red envelope and gave them a few protection charms.

The woman accepted the charms solemnly and told her son to carry his carefully. 

Her son’s soul had returned and after taking the medicine from Hai Guanchao for a few days, he had recovered. The child didn’t know much and had never been to a Taoist temple. He was very curious and kept looking around. When he heard his mother, he nodded obediently. He asked Xie Lingya, “Uncle, did you save me? Thank you.”

Xie Lingya smiled at the child, “This Uncle was only helping your mom from the sidelines. Look, your mom’s finger was injured in order to save you.”

The woman’s finger was wounded from biting on it. It was still bandaged. The fingers were full of nerve-endings, how could it not hurt? It also made daily life inconvenient. Now, her son held her finger and kissed it a few times, and she suddenly felt like she was glowing from the inside.

After the family left…

“Teacher Xie, did that family’s kid see a ghost?” He Zun came over to hang out today. He was more or less Baoyang Temple’s first worshipper. He was also familiar with Xie Lingya and company so he came to the back and heard what happened.

It was a weekend. Shi Changxuan was also there but he was quietly reading documents on the computer.

Xie Lingya stole a glance at Shi Changxuan, then, with arms akimbo, he said, “No, he just lost his soul. His mother didn’t believe in the supernatural so I didn’t dare perform any ritual. We told her it was a folk remedy, then I…”

Xie Lingya passionately recounted what he had done. He deliberately emphasized the time it took to look up the Baoyang Temple’s notes on his phone and find dozens of ways to retrieve the soul. See, isn’t our database great?

He Zun was instead more interested in Hai Guanchao’s specialty. “Doctor Hai is amazing. He even knew that the kid liked drinking cold beverages.”

“That was nothing. Apparently, his father could tell if a person’s unborn child would like having cold beverages or not just by taking their pulse,” Xie Lingya said casually.

He Zun: “….That doesn’t sound possible. Is that still considered a medical skill?”

It really wasn’t all medical skill. Xie Lingya was also learning Taisu Pulse recently, so he said, “Oh, right. Give me your hand and let me take your pulse. I have learned something from Doctor Hai lately.”

He Zun stretched out his arm curiously. “Teacher Xie, you are even interested in medicine?”

Xie Lingya placed his fingers on He Zun’s wrist and took his pulse for a moment. Then he said, “Your liver is clear. That means that your family has wealth but is strict to you and won’t allow you to spend money carelessly. And the front is smaller than the back. This position… your family earned their wealth around thirty years ago? No wonder they keep the habit and spend carefully.”

Xie Lingya was murmuring his thoughts initially but as he got towards the end, he spoke more fluently, “The area between your eyes and brows is thick. Has your family bought a house for you recently? A little far… What, the house they bought is in another city? Is it in the provincial capital? You are not staying in Niuyang after graduation?”

He Zun was completely stunned. Indeed, his family earned their wealth around thirty years ago, but his parents were not spoiled. Moreover…

“M-my mom called me the other day and said that they had bought me a house in the provincial capital so that I could move there in the future,” He Zun said in a daze. “No… wait, weren’t you taking my pulse?”

Xie Lingya took a sip of water and replied, “I am taking your pulse. And also giving you a reading. I’m telling you, if I am right, you will fail three subjects in your exams.”

He Zun immediately cried out loud, “WHAT!?!”

Zhang Daoting stuck his head through the door, “Boss, we are out of Residence Protection Charms. Can you draw one?”

“Coming,” Xie Lingya put down the cup and walked out.

He Zun was still in dismay. “That’s too horrible. Fail three subjects… is there any solution…”

A while later, Hai Guanchao walked in. He had met He Zun before, so seeing how distraught he looked, he asked, “Xiao He, what’s the matter with you?”

He Zun answered pitifully, “Doctor Hai, Teacher Xie just said that I would fail three subjects this semester…”

It was still some time before the final exams, so Hai Guanchao realized Xie Lingy must have done a reading. 

He immediately reached for He Zun’s hand. “Let me take your pulse.”

Xie Lingya was so daring to read other people’s pulse after learning for such a short time! What if his reading wasn’t correct? He had frightened the kid.

He Zun held out his hand miserably, “What dope-ass pulse-taking method are you people using? He could even tell that my family got rich thirty years ago. And that my parents won’t let me spend money but bought a house for me in the provincial capital recently…”

As He Zun continued, Hai Guanchao’s expression got stranger.

It was correct. It was all correct.

But it had only been a month since he started introducing the Taisu Pulse to Xie Lingya. He just finished explaining all the important concepts not long ago. Most people would still be memorizing the contents.

“……” At that time, Shi Changxuan, who sat nearby, suddenly stared at him. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing and returned to his reading.

Hai Guanchao: “……”

His face turned green.

He seemed to have discovered why Shi Changxuan and Zhang Daoting looked at him that way when he made the bet with Xie Lingya. He suddenly remembered that Xie Lingya was referring to his notes when they were treating the patient, and had a scary thought.

At the time, he thought that Xie Lingya did not remember what he had learned. Now that he knew that this fella had learned the Taisu Pulse in a month… Xie Lingya was fucking instantly learning the skill from the notes, wasn’t he?

The room went silent except for He Zun’s chattering, “Doctor Hai, Doctor Hai. Why did you stop? Sigh, why is this pulse-taking like a fortune-teller reading someone’s face or palms? Am I really going to fail my exams? Did Teacher Xie learn this from you? Are you two a student and a teacher?”

Translator: Velvet
TL checker: Darkchocolatesan
Editor: Miiya
Proofreader: Taalia
QC: Empress