Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Crossing the Fairy Bridge

When I was about ten years old, a relative in our family passed away. She was my grandfather's cousin, and we called her great aunt. The eldest aunt died suddenly while she was taking a nap at home, and she didn't even go to the hospital. When the son came back from the field in the afternoon, he saw that the eldest aunt was out of breath, crying and screaming, and the whole village went to the hospital. up. At that time, there was no cremation in the countryside, so every elderly person had two top priorities: one was to make a coffin for himself, also called a birthday material; the other was to choose a treasure cave for himself.The great aunt had already done two things for herself before her death, so she was put into the coffin not long after her death, but the lid was left open for people to mourn.

Because they are our elders, we naturally want to go too. After kowtow and incense, we went to play with our cousins.The first night my cousin told me to go to bed early, and said that the next night a Taoist priest would come to sing a big play, what kind of play? Speaking of funerals in the countryside, they are actually rather cumbersome, especially in that era, when rich people value thick, what is thick?The coffin board must be thick, the shroud must be thick, and the quilt covered by the dead must be thick. It is often said in novels that poor people bury a thin-skinned coffin, or a straw mat, which is a symbol of the family's lack of wealth.This aunt's family can be regarded as a wealthy family in the local area, so her coffin is naturally more particular.The coffin is made of Chinese fir, and the materials used are also extremely particular: the bottom, cover, and sides are three each, and the front and back are three each.Five bottoms, twenty cedar boards, the number of which is five; this is a symbol of a rich family.

For clothes quilts, rich people have five collars and three waists with silk to the bottom, that is, there are five upper garments and three lower skirts, all made of silk, which is actually silk floss.I attended a funeral a few days ago, and I also sent a quilt, which was marked: the national uniform price, eighty-eight yuan... Shrouds, common people are Ming Dynasty clothing, round collar, square scarf, thick-soled boots.This is the so-called "birth and birth (referring to wearing modern clothes before death) and death not descending (referring to still wearing Ming Dynasty clothes after death, the last Han Dynasty was the Ming Dynasty)".

When they died, rich people covered their faces with silk scarves, while ordinary people covered them with big table paper, that is, a piece of yellow paper that was burned for the dead. The two fists of the dead should be held slightly, take seven pieces of bread, and wear them with a stick, also called dog cake, which means that when the dead goes to the underworld, if he meets a vicious dog or the like, he throws a big cake in the past, and then the dead mouth There is a silver dollar in it, and one in each hand. After death, light an oil lamp in front of the bed, burn a joss stick, put a bowl of down-to-earth rice, two eggs, and the whole family must kneel down. If the deceased has a daughter, the daughter must be burned with a big watch paper. .So I told my relatives and friends all over the place, and then I found someone to report the funeral. At that time, reporting the funeral was still a laborious task. I needed to give someone a pair of new Jiefang shoes, so that people in the village could wear them and go to call relatives on foot. After death, before encoffining, put clothes on the deceased, which is called small coffin.

We came to report the funeral by a person from my aunt's village. When we went, we happened to catch up with Xiaoyu. How can we do it?The women in the village should be invited to take the river water and use a new towel to wipe the aunt's body three times on the chest, back and back, and then comb her hair three times. To replace the shroud, one needs to prepare a bucket with a sesame oil lamp and seven wicks in the bucket. A bamboo sieve is placed on the bucket, on which the shroud can be placed. The shroud is put on the filial son, that is, the aunt’s son, and then the shroud can be placed. Put on a shroud for her, cut off the collar of the filial son’s shirt, and stuff it into the collar of the great-aunt; the hands and feet are covered with silk cotton covers, and then I have to wait for the priest or the Taoist priest to come.

The aunt's family naturally invited a Taoist priest. This Taoist priest is an old Taoist priest from the next-door village. One red envelope, one cigarette, two bottles of white wine, two catties of sugar, one pig's head, and some fabric. This Taoist priest is only willing to come, and he is very arrogant. When I went, the Taoist priest was already there, holding a bell in one hand, and a kitchen knife in the other hand, and a bowl was placed on the kitchen knife, and then he chanted a mantra—this mantra is called "Posha", and then put the tea in the bowl with him. Grab the rice, throw it into the coffin, and shout: Get up!A few helpers carried the old lady into the coffin.Others should immediately take the straw under the bed and the clothes and shoes worn by the aunt when she was alive, and burn them outside the gate, which is commonly known as "burning the bed grass".When the deceased is put into the coffin, it is regarded as a great funeral.Immediately after that, the kitchen knife and the bowl were placed under the coffin, the long sleep lamp was lit, and the children began to cry, and we children were about to go up and kowtow.

In the evening, after dinner, my cousin took me to hide in the corner. It was really not easy to occupy this position to watch "Guo Xianqiao" up close, because children are prohibited from appearing at this time, so we also Hide under the stairwell. The Taoist brought a back chair, covered it with clothes, tied a human head with cotton on the head of the chair, covered it with a black towel, and wrapped the edge of the chair with an apron to show that this person was the dead aunt.After that, six square tables were used, arranged in a long shape, and the tops were built with bamboo to form a bridge shape.When the son was born, the filial son knelt down holding the tablet to welcome the dead, the Taoist chanted scriptures, and everyone helped the dead to cross the bridge with that chair.The atmosphere was ghastly.

My aunt's eldest son, that is, my eldest cousin, walked in front holding the spiritual tablet, the younger cousin and cousin walked behind holding chairs, and the Taoist priest led the way in front, ringing the bell while walking with his eyes closed. Arched.The Taoist priest passed by, and the elder cousin also passed by. While everyone was waiting for the younger cousin to pass, he fell at the arch of the bridge. At first he thought that the bamboo was slippery, but the Taoist priest saw it and All I can say is that my aunt still doesn't want to leave, I miss everyone, and ask my little cousin to go again.

With the mentality of watching the excitement, everyone walked again, this time they still walked to the same position, and fell again; this time the Taoist couldn't stand it anymore, and let the three of them, the cousin, the cousin's husband and the little cousin, walk on the chairs. The third time, as expected, fell in the same position again. This fairy bridge cannot pass, which means that the soul of this person cannot enter reincarnation. This is very anxious to everyone present. We children are still watching the fun, but many adults already want to leave here. In this situation Yes means there is a problem.

This was the first time the old Taoist saw this scene, and he panicked, so he found a hemp rope and tied the chair directly to the little cousin's body. At this time, it is not possible to change the person. If you change someone, it means that this person is not a Dutiful son, that is very embarrassing. The fourth time I crossed the Xianqiao, I was in the same position. When the chair reached that position again, the whole bridge fell down with a "crash", and everyone on the bridge, including the Taoist, fell to the ground. It fell directly to pieces. The people present hurried over to help them up. Except for the chair, everyone else was fine, except for the Taoist priest, whose forehead fell to the corner of the table and turned red immediately.Everyone found a towel to cover him, and asked him what to do. At this time, the old Taoist priest was already dying, and shouted: "Don't do it, don't do it, there are ghosts here!" When he spoke, he was crying , and then covered his head, even the guy didn't have time to take anything, and ran out directly.

You said that the Taoist priest took the lead in saying that a ghost ran out, and the rest of the people exploded in an instant. Who would dare to stay?Except for the people in the eldest aunt's family, everyone else, including me, all ran out at once. That night we stayed at my grandmother's house. Before dawn, someone knocked on the door of my grandmother's house. It was my grandpa who opened the door. When I opened the door, I saw that it was my uncle. When he entered the door, his legs were shaking. The grandpa who lived there shouted: "Uncle, hurry up and be a companion. The family dare not keep anyone, and they panic. Otherwise, they will give up early tomorrow morning. I dare not continue this white wedding." My grandfather also saw that scene that day. Although he said that it would be no trouble for the old lady to bury him early in the morning, firstly, it was not in compliance with the rules, and secondly, the Taoist priests were scared away. He thought of Zha Wenbin, asked his uncle to wait, went to wake my dad up, and hurried to Zha Wenbin's place to have a look. During those few years, our family did not have much contact with Zha Wenbin. He also came to my house a few times. Many, no one knows what he is doing. I rushed to Cha's house overnight, and it was his youngest son, Cha Liang, who opened the door. He asked where his father was, and Cha Liang said he was sleeping. It is also quite respectful. If it is not urgent, I am afraid that I dare not disturb. After waiting for a while, Cha Wenbin came out and asked my dad what was the matter with his clothes on.I haven't seen each other for several years, but Zha Wenbin still looks so energetic. My dad explained the situation. Zha Wenbin grabbed the Qiankun bag and left. He told his son to take good care of the house, and then he and my dad set off to grandma's house. When I arrived at my grandmother's house, it was already dawn. Cha Wenbin first went to my aunt's house to take a look, then went out, went directly to the old Taoist's house, knocked on the door, made a bow, and asked the old Taoist about the day's events. After the situation, I went to my grandmother's house again. When he arrived at his grandmother's house, Zha Wenbin said that he wanted to sleep and call him again when it got dark. He also informed his aunt's house that everything was as usual, but don't seal the coffin, he will go there when it gets dark. Zha Wenbin never likes to explain things very much, so everyone had to follow his words. There are not many people in my aunt's house now, and no one in the village dared to go. Of course, we children were also told, Can't go running around outside. When it was dark, grandma cautiously went to wake up Cha Wenbin.After dinner, my dad couldn't help asking him what was going on. Cha Wenbin smiled and said, I'm afraid that old man won't take up this job again in the future. A person who has studied under Wu Zuo for a few years in the coffin dares to call himself It's a Taoist priest. The difference between true and false Taoist priests does not lie in whether they understand the basic routines, but in the belongings and Taoism in their hands! Cha Wenbin is such a person. That night, when everyone heard that another Taoist priest had gone to my aunt's house, the one who had saved my aunt, crowds of onlookers rushed over.Those who were scared to death last night also wanted to find some excitement today, but Cha Wenbin never let others down.Yesterday's embarrassing scene has been cleaned up again, the old lady is still lying asleep in the coffin, the incense is still burning, and the long sleep lamp below is still on.The spectators outside had their necks crooked. Cha Wenbin's first words after entering the door almost scared half of the people to death: Take the paper off your mother's face, so as not to suffocate her to death. The big cousin also couldn't figure out the way, this dead man is still suffocating... Is this Taoist crazy? Seeing that he was not moving, Cha Wenbin shook his head and went up to remove the yellow paper, and said again: "The men stay, the women all go back to their homes, and close the door." Zha Wenbin said next: "Those who want to be a scapegoat can stay." After speaking, Baojian pointed at the yellow paper that he had just taken down, rubbed it against the ground and it burned. When the women saw this skill, they didn't want to leave and waited until they were really scapegoats. One of the women ran away with a yell, and the rest scattered like birds and beasts when they saw it, for fear that they would be the last ones to become scapegoats. After everyone left, we children were naturally expelled and led home by the women.Leaving a group of old men present, Zha Wenbin said again, those who have met their wives today will also go back; several men scratched their heads in embarrassment, and left amidst the laughter of others. After closing the gate, Cha Wenbin said to the people present with a straight face, all of them will sit on the ground and no matter what happens, they are not allowed to make a sound.Then, Cha Wenbin carried the old lady out of the coffin, put it on the door, and asked the uncle to change the old lady's shroud, put on the clothes she usually wears, and asked several men to carry the coffin away .Helplessly, my aunt's clothes had already been burned, so I hurriedly found my cousin's clothes to change into, and then lay on the door panel. Cha Wenbin motioned to turn off the light, and told me not to panic no matter what happened.Then, the table was set up, and several indispensable things before the ceremony were also put on the table one by one, but this time there was only a spiritual tablet and joss stick, nothing else. Zha Wenbin also sat on the ground, crossing his hands in meditation, and fell into meditation after a while. If I have to write this paragraph, I can only describe it from the perspective of Zha Wenbin, because outsiders just waited. Then I got a result, but I didn't know the danger. In fact, Cha Wenbin's move is called soul out of body. As for why he wants a strong man, he also uses their yang energy so that he will not be gone forever. If it is not for grandma's face, he is the one I don't want to pick it up, because not everyone wants to go to the underworld. This matter should be explained from the "crossing the fairy bridge". The ancients crossing the fairy bridge means sending their relatives to the underworld. This aunt's fairy bridge was difficult to cross over and over again. The reason was not that the aunt refused to leave, but that she simply couldn't. This fairy bridge leads to the underworld. This is the only way for mortals to pass through after their lifespan is over, so you can't help but go over it, and the messengers will escort you away. Don't say she is an old lady, she is a killing god. I have to go through this obediently. The original old Taoist priest, at best, only knew how to do things, went through the motions, played with formalities, and could understand a little bit of superficiality by following the gourd.But to really deal with ghosts and gods, not to mention him, even Cha Wenbin himself is not very sure. When people discuss things with ghosts, it’s not about whether they can talk about things, but that you can’t even find this ghost. dealing with? When Zha Wenbin got into samadhi, he was looking for this ghost, because the aunt’s life span is actually endless, she was seduced by the soul, that is, some people who died in vain. The soul cannot enter the reincarnation of the six realms, it just floats outside. You must find someone to suffer this pain on your behalf, so that you can reincarnate by yourself, which is what we often call a substitute for the dead. Because the aunt's birthday coincided with a certain person who died in vain, she was inexplicably seduced into her soul while she was sleeping, and became a scapegoat for the vain person, because after death, her soul had to float outside for others and could not enter the underworld. , how could it be possible to cross this fairy bridge?She wouldn't go that way, so she couldn't make it through several times. Zha Wenbin knew it too, so he decided to give it a try. Fortunately, my aunt's body is still intact. If I can find my aunt's soul and get rid of that evil ghost, there is still a chance for my aunt to come back to life. After entering meditation, Cha Wenbin's soul temporarily left the human world, and went to the ghost world, which is the underworld. If this physical body is not guarded, if it is occupied by other things or encounters any danger there, it may never wake up like my aunt. The time left for Zha Wenbin is actually very short, because he does not have the ability to reach the sky, he can come and go freely, and protect his body with yang energy, which is the time for a stick of incense. The stick of incense he lights is the timetable. Regardless of whether he succeeds or not, he must come back before the incense stick in the mortal world is over, otherwise he will not be able to find his way home. This person has three souls and seven souls. Zha Wenbin saw that his aunt still has one soul. Although there is only a trace of it, he can try it. It is said that after Zha Wenbin entered the underworld, he first looked at the remaining soul. The three souls and seven souls are one body. As long as one soul does not leave, it means that the aunt is not far away, or is still struggling.Zha Wenbin made a spell—Dari Tathagata fixes the three souls, and first gave this trace to the aunt's body to buy time, and then ran directly to Yinyang Road. At the head of the Naihe Bridge, Cha Wenbin saw two shackles escorting a soul to cross the bridge. Whose soul is this?It was the one who hooked the aunt's soul, and Cha Wenbin stopped him immediately.In fact, I don't care about this errand, as long as you wild ghosts can find a substitute for the dead ghost, you will not pay attention to who you are looking for, and you will be treated the same after death. After explaining the reason to the errand, he didn't want to, because he was waiting for the job, how could he give up the task he got?Cha Wenbin said that my aunt still has 21 years to live, so she would not let someone else die for her.The errand said, they just take care of people, they don't care about Yangshou, and they are going to go that way. If Zha Wenbin stops you again, the errand will do it. After all, you are a cultivator, and if you dare to come to my underworld to snatch your soul, you are looking for death.The errands are naturally divided into ranks, these two errands are not high-end goods, they are responsible for catching wild ghosts, they are all small roles, but Cha Wenbin is not sure of winning. Cha Wenbin looked back, the incense on the other end was almost burnt out, and if he didn’t go back, he might have to stay here too. Looking forward, the lady Meng on the other end was about to pour the soup, so he yelled : "Don't leave, leave this person behind!" Those two errands were not willing to listen to him, so they just went forward.In desperation, Cha Wenbin took out the celestial master's orthodox way left by the patriarch, and asked: "You two ghosts, do you recognize this thing?" The two ghosts stopped and looked back. The thing is also known, so I looked up and down the trail: "Why is this thing in your hand?! Who are you?" "Do you recognize this thing?" Cha Wenbin originally wanted to scare him, but he didn't expect the other party to ask him back, so he simply showed the sword. Seeing that the man showed another sword, the two servants took a few steps back and glanced at each other. One of them took the lead and said, "Seven Star Sword? Stop talking about the immortal way. It's not that we want to embarrass the immortal way. Since Xiandao is the head of Maoshan, he naturally understands the rules of the underworld. Once this person comes here, he has not been able to take him back. Otherwise, we will not be able to do business when we go back. I am afraid that Xiandao is covered by Sanqing, and it will be difficult to get out of this underworld. !" My darling, this great seal is the great seal of the head teacher of Maoshan. Doesn't that mean that Master Zang Jin passed the position of head master to the patriarch Ling Zhengyang?Then... why did the master get the seal of the head teacher again but was driven down the mountain?This is too bizarre. With these two treasures in his hands, Zha Wenbin also gave himself courage: "What if I have to take them away?" After finishing speaking, he held up the big seal and made a movement to smash it forward. Seeing this, Yin Cha kept protecting his head, looking terrified.Seeing that it was effective, Zha Wenbin immediately gained confidence, put away the big seal, and looked at the difference between the two. The two ghosts looked at each other: "If you must take the immortal way away, you can only give me another soul. We will go back empty-handed. If the higher-ups know about this, I am afraid that the immortal way will also be doomed!" Cha Wenbin nodded and agreed: "Tomorrow, when the two officials go to Hongcun again, I will definitely give you an explanation." After finishing speaking, he put away the big seal and sword, walked over, and took out another handful of money to give to the two of them. The errand said: "The two of you will buy some wine and drink. After returning home, I will definitely give you a big gift!" "I don't dare, I dare not accept things taught by Maoshan." After some refusals, the two little ghosts took the money and released him. They agreed to go to Hongcun to bring someone back the next day, and they walked back together after saying that.On the way, the unlucky haunted wild ghost was inevitably beaten up by Cha Wenbin and Yincha. The wild ghost heard that it was the head teacher of Maoshan, and he was afraid that Cha Wenbin would give it a blow and he would never be reborn, so he confessed that he was a herb collector In time, he stumbled and died at the foot of Niutoushan.Sure enough, there, Cha Wenbin found the soul of his aunt, and after thanking the two errants again, he returned to the Yang Realm. Just after the stick of incense was burned, Cha Wenbin woke up from his trance, and went straight to the foot of Niutou Mountain. Everyone was holding lanterns, and finally found a rotten bone under a pile of chaotic rocks. Some of them recognized it at a glance. This is a herb picker from a neighboring village. He said he had been missing for a long time, so he hurried to inform the family. After the family came, they burst into tears, but Zha Wenbin didn't point it out. He just told the family to go back and find a good cave for burial, burn more joss paper, and went back to his aunt's house.This time, no one was allowed to go in, and all stood at the door. Zha Wenbin asked his aunt to be put on the bed. Everyone cleaned up the scene and restored it to the way it was before the accident. Everyone didn't know what medicine he sold in the gourd, so they had to do so, and then agreed to come before dawn.In fact, Cha Wenbin was afraid that his aunt would wake up and see that she was doing a funeral for him, and she would be scared to death. After the rooster crowed for the first time, it was already dawn, and Zha Wenbin went with the others again. The eldest cousin went in first. When he went in, his aunt was still lying on the bed, so Zha Wenbin signaled him to shout. The eldest cousin called "Mom" softly, and the lying aunt first moved her hands, then opened her eyes, rubbed her eyes with her hands, and asked, "What are you doing?" This time, the pot exploded, and the dead came back to life... Isn't this just a fake corpse?Just as everyone was about to run out, Cha Wenbin said it was all right, your mother just passed out, she wasn't dead at all, so go and touch it if you don't believe me. A few brave people went up to touch it and found that their hands were hot, and my aunt looked at a group of people inexplicably... In this way, my aunt was snatched back by Cha Wenbin, but the matter was not over yet... It is said that after Zha Wenbin left, within a few days, an old man died. In fact, this old man’s lifespan is not yet over. Zha Wenbin calculated that he was the closest person in the whole village to die, so he wrote The horoscope of his birthday was burned at the entrance of the village, which made the old man ascend to heaven in advance. After the old man died, Cha Wenbin made an exception to do a ritual, which also allowed the old man to quickly ascend to the Paradise of Paradise, but he also blamed himself for this. Many things have sowed disaster. A few days later, the errand entrusted Cha Wenbin with a dream, telling him that there would be a price to pay for changing his life. Cha Wenbin thought he was just asking for money again, so he burned a large amount of ingots to the errand.This time he changed his life, but he never expected that the price would come so fast, and it would be so big and heavy! Cha Wenbin has a pair of sons and daughters, his youngest daughter is very smart, and he loves him very much, because his wife died early, Cha Wenbin tried to leave the village as much as possible, as both a father and a mother, he wanted to keep them The two grew up together, because I had no parents since I was a child, so I pinned all my feelings on a pair of children, but the youngest daughter is very sensible and well-behaved. Although she is young, she helps cook and do laundry. Cha Wenbin goes out No matter how late he came back, he would always leave a table of hot food, which made him feel very guilty for this daughter. That day was the New Year's Eve of that year. At noon, the daughter of the Cha family went to the river to wash vegetables with a basket, but she fell down in a tumble and drowned in the creek less than knee deep.When someone told Cha Wenbin to go to the river, he was out of breath.Without saying a word, Zha Wenbin returned home with the girl's body in his arms, closed the door, and went straight to the underworld to ask for someone. Cha Wenbin ran all the way on Huangquan Road. Before reaching Naihe Bridge, he encountered those two shady men. He immediately turned his face, took out his tool and rushed up. The two shady men kept begging for mercy and told Cha Wenbin They didn't do this at all, how could Cha Wenbin believe it, he was already jealous, even if he buried himself here today, he still wanted to get his daughter back, because her daughter hadn't lived to the end of her life.Seeing that begging for mercy was unsuccessful, the two errands could only tell the truth: Cha Wenbin's daughter was punished because Cha Wenbin crossed the line and offended God.This is a catastrophe, and it is not their business at all. If his son is to be fine, it is best to let the matter rest. No matter how powerful you are, Cha Wenbin, you can't go against the sky. If you go to the underworld, he will be the next to die son! Cha Wenbin, oh, Cha Wenbin, once a hero, once reckless, fighting against the sky, going against the sky, do you have such great ability?What are you?But a little Taoist priest in the world.When he came back to his senses, he found that he had returned. Looking at his son who was crying loudly beside his sister, Cha Wenbin hugged his son tightly, gritting his teeth and hugging him tightly.Cha Wenbin buried his daughter next to his wife's grave on New Year's Eve. What's the point of being a Taoist priest?His parents died early, his wife died early, and now even his daughter is gone. Looking at the only son beside him, Cha Wenbin vowed to protect him! People say that Hades wants you to die on the third watch, and will never keep you until the fifth watch.After her daughter's accident, Cha Wenbin received a dream from her daughter and told him that she was trying to repay the debt half a year ago for Cha Wenbin. ten! This can also be regarded as a warning from Hades to Zha Wenbin. You praise me in the world, but I am the king of the underworld!Everything has a karma, and if you get something, you must pay. This incident dealt a great blow to Cha Wenbin. For a long time, he locked himself at home and began to think about the meaning of "Tao", which also led to many deeds of this Taoist in the future! After Zha Nu drowned and died that year, Zha Wenbin locked himself at home for three months and did not leave the house. We also visited here, and he always closed the door to thank guests.Three months later, Cha Wenbin broke out and went straight to the provincial capital. From then on, the first person in this story can no longer be "I", and the protagonist has completely become him——finally A Taoist: Cha Wenbin! Cha Wenbin understands that he has offended the wrath of the sky, but he is not convinced in his bones, why can the sky control the fate of people, why can't he fight against the sky?Now it seems that the only way to crack it is probably the "Ruyi Book". Where is the legendary book and whether there is that book? Everything is unknown, but the information left by the murals in the underground palace is still unknown. gave him a glimmer of hope.The writing left on the wall of the General Temple may be a clue, and he was looking for the old Wang of the archaeological team. He entrusted his son to his grandmother to take care of him for a while, and his grandmother naturally agreed. He left some belongings, but his grandmother refused to accept them. However, she reluctantly put them away, saying that she was buying some clothes for his son. . Cha Wenbin hurried to the provincial capital, and Lao Wang had already been waiting for this half-human, half-god Taoist priest at the station.Ordinarily, as an archaeologist, he should be an atheist, but there are many things that cannot be explained by science. He has also heard about the drowning of Zha's daughter. Stay at the guest house.After Zha Wenbin sat down, he didn't care about reminiscing about the past, he just asked Lao Wang to take him to find Mr. He, he was eager to find some clues.Lao Wang is also a hospitable person. After contacting Mr. He, the three agreed to have a few drinks in the building outside the building in the evening.