Lang Jiuchuan followed Liang Jinfeng and the others into a cramped little courtyard. Though small — only two rooms — the monthly rent still ran three taels of silver.

Stepping inside, the space was equally narrow. On a bed lay a gaunt man, pale and ashen, his breath nearly imperceptible. This was none other than the remnant soul she had already seen — Ning Zhe.

He stood vacantly at the head of the bed, staring at the figure lying there, growing ever more insubstantial.

“Brother Ning was born into poverty. Before passing his examinations, he made his living copying books for a bookshop and writing letters for others to cover daily expenses. After he passed, some local gentry wanted to register their land holdings under his name to avoid taxes. He was reluctant, but his wife was pregnant at the time, so he accepted two such arrangements. There was no helping it — integrity doesn’t put food on the table. The man himself might go without eating, but the child still needs to eat. He couldn’t let his wife and child go without even a scrap of meat. But that good fortune didn’t last long. After Sister-in-law Ning gave birth to Shaosi, her health was frail and constantly ailing. She was bedridden, medicine never stopping, and after struggling through two years, she was never cured — and left behind nothing but a mountain of debt.”

Ning Shaosi came over with water and a cotton cloth and began wiping Ning Zhe’s face.

Seeing this, Liang Jinfeng sighed and said: “Shaosi is a remarkably bright and sensible child. He’s only six years old this year, and he’s already reading the Shuowen Jiezi. Since his father’s accident, this little one has been caring for him all by himself, without a single word of complaint. Father and son have depended on each other — their life was poor, but it wasn’t unbearable. They were so close to a turn of fortune after passing the imperial examinations, with better days on the horizon — yet who could have foreseen… Ah, what a tragedy this all is.”

Lang Jiuchuan glanced at Ning Shaosi. He kept his head bowed, lips pressed tight with quiet stubbornness, wiping his father’s fingers one by one.

Liang Jinfeng followed her gaze and said: “Master, don’t worry — the consultation fee, I’ll pay it on Brother Ning’s behalf.”

“No need for Uncle Liang to do that. I’ll borrow it myself. I’ll pay it myself.” Ning Shaosi turned his head and said.

Lang Jiuchuan summoned her talisman brush. With the other hand, two fingers pressed together, she formed a Daoist seal and struck it against the brush. Then she drew out the other remnant soul from within the body.

Exactly as she had anticipated.

This person was not dead — within his body, a remnant soul still lingered. But there was only one soul remaining: the primary life-soul governing yang vitality — the Yang Flame of the left shoulder — and it was nearly extinguished. The other two souls had long since been entirely destroyed.

He was not dead, yet he could not wake — because only a single soul was sustaining his life force. In truth, had he not previously been left protective talismans by a teacher, and were it not for the shelter of his auspicious literary star fortune, a person in such a state would be extremely vulnerable to possession by malevolent spirits.

Lang Jiuchuan made no attempt to conceal this. She stated it plainly — directing her words mainly at Ning Shaosi.

He was sharp-minded, and he was the one seeking her help. He deserved to understand what condition his father was truly in.

Liang Jinfeng looked somewhat bewildered and said: “You mean — of Brother Ning’s three souls and seven spirits, only one soul remains?”

“One soul remains within the body, keeping his physical form from dying.” Lang Jiuchuan said: “Of the remaining two souls and seven spirits, one soul and six spirits have already been destroyed. Only one soul and one spirit still survive in remnant form — and they have been drifting outside for so long that even this one soul and one spirit are on the verge of dispersing.”

Ning Shaosi’s eyes reddened. He crushed the cotton cloth in his hands into the shape of a wrung-out pickle.

“Even if this one remnant soul and spirit were merged back together with the one soul in the body and returned to him, he would still struggle to regain consciousness. And even if he did regain consciousness, it would be difficult for him to function as before — to walk, to jump, to have a sound mind.” Lang Jiuchuan said: “Without a complete soul residing in the body, he will be perpetually weak and sickly, and easily susceptible to possession by malevolent spirits. If an evil ghost were to come, it might devour this remnant soul — or at the least, force it out, turning him into a wandering spirit. Sooner or later, he would dissolve into nothingness.”

“Meaning — not even reincarnation is possible?” Liang Jinfeng said, his face pale.

Lang Jiuchuan nodded: “With an incomplete soul, even if he entered the underworld for reincarnation, he would be afflicted with intellectual disability — what people call an idiot.”

Ning Shaosi, hearing this, wept openly as tears fell like a severed string of beads.

Liang Jinfeng’s eyes reddened too as he said: “Is there truly no other way? Master, your abilities reach the heavens — can you not find and retrieve that missing soul and spirits?”

“I can see that his remnant soul bears bite marks. There are traces of yin malevolence clinging to it. When he fell into the river, he must have been struck with such fright that his soul left his body. The river most likely harbored a water ghost that lunged at him and devoured parts of his soul.”

Liang Jinfeng’s back went cold: “So a person dies, becomes a ghost — and can still eat other ghosts?”

“People devour people, ghosts devour ghosts — why would that be impossible?” Lang Jiuchuan said with a cold laugh: “Some malevolent ghosts specifically consume souls to build up their own power. It is entirely ordinary.”

That “ordinary” was something Liang Jinfeng could not agree with. It was terrifying.

Ning Shaosi said: “So what you mean is — my father, right now, cannot die, but he cannot live either. And even if he dies, he cannot be reincarnated? Or if he does reincarnate, he can only come back as an idiot?”

“It’s not quite that he cannot die — that Yang Flame of his is nearly extinguished. It is a matter of a few days at most.” Lang Jiuchuan said evenly: “The difference is, if you had not come to find me, after his death, he absolutely would not have been able to reincarnate.”

“Why? Did you not say that entering the underworld for reincarnation would make him an idiot?” Liang Jinfeng asked, confused.

“Had you not come, after his death, the one soul in his body would have separated from the physical form. With only one soul, how could he enter the underworld? He would simply drift through the living world and eventually dissolve into nothingness. And the remaining one soul and one spirit outside — they are already so faint and close to scattered that without a ghost official to guide them, how could they ever reach the Ghost Gate?” Lang Jiuchuan sighed: “Because you came to find me, I can merge these remnant souls together and send them to the Ghost Gate, so that a ghost official can come and guide them. It’s the same principle as the living world saying that having connections makes everything easier to handle — do you understand?”

Liang Jinfeng clasped his hands: “This one was disrespectful. Forgive my ignorance.”

The world of gods and ghosts was truly extraordinary.

Ning Shaosi wiped his tears and said: “So my father is completely beyond saving? Is that right?”

Even if the man were to regain consciousness, he could not be as he was before — he would die eventually, and die in suffering. And in death, he could not even reincarnate into a whole person.

The world was so unjust to the two of them, father and son.

“I cannot save him — at least, I cannot give you back a father who is whole. I cannot help him reincarnate as a complete person either.” However great her connections in the underworld, it was not within her power to build a complete soul out of remnant fragments for reincarnation.

Ning Shaosi was indeed sharp-minded. The moment he heard those words, he caught the implication beneath them: “Do you mean there is something that isn’t whole?”

“Have someone help nurture your father’s soul, rebuilding it through the power of accumulated merit.” Before he could ask further, Lang Jiuchuan continued: “For your father to reincarnate as a complete person, this remnant soul must be nurtured — sustained through the power of merit. As the saying goes, cause and effect always balance; with merit and wish-power to rebuild his form, when that merit is fulfilled, he can reincarnate into the world once more. Heaven, in recognition of that merit, will not allow him to be reborn incomplete.”

“Can you do that?” Ning Shaosi asked.

Lang Jiuchuan shook her head: “I cannot. But I know someone who can — the question is, are you willing?”

Ning Shaosi was taken aback. What was there to be unwilling about?

“Once you agree, your father will become someone else — meaning, your father’s body will be used by another person. The price is that this person will help rebuild your father’s soul.” Lang Jiuchuan looked at him steadily: “From that point on, your father’s physical body will be your father’s — but the true inhabiting owner will be someone else. In plain terms, what I’m describing is what we call possession.”