It wasn’t clear if it was because Kong Feng had taken Fatty as a disciple, but he brought up Qin Jing’s matter proactively.
“I’ve also figured out this Qin Jing you’ve been talking about these past few days… To put it bluntly, it’s just a soul-calling incident.” Old Man Kong said.
“Soul-calling?” I was a little confused.
He took a sip of tea and said, “Have you heard of the ‘soul-calling case’ from the Qianlong era?”
I naturally knew about the “soul-calling case.” It was a ridiculous and tragic event.
The incident occurred in the thirty-third year of Qianlong’s reign, when a so-called sorcery called “soul-calling” suddenly broke out in the Jiangnan region.
Folk tales claimed that anyone who mastered this sorcery could enslave a person’s soul by obtaining their hair and clothing, or even just their name.
Those without souls would die and never be reborn.
For a time, the entire country was engulfed in a wave of soul-calling sorcery. The common people resorted to all sorts of methods to save themselves. Emperor Qianlong, being rather suspicious, believed there must be some conspiracy behind it.
To uncover the supposed “conspiracy,” Qianlong issued orders, dispatching many people to investigate the matter.
Soon, many ill-intentioned individuals began to use “soul-calling” to harm others.
It was said that a butcher, resentful because Magistrate Li, who often bought pork from him, had started buying meat elsewhere, decided to retaliate.
One night, he stole someone’s queue and hid it under a mulberry tree in Magistrate Li’s backyard.
The next day, the butcher reported to the officials, claiming he had seen Magistrate Li “soul-calling” in the dead of night.
The authorities, accompanied by the butcher, went to Magistrate Li’s house. They dug up half a whip under the mulberry tree and arrested Magistrate Li and his entire family on the spot.
After Magistrate Li was imprisoned, he was extorted by the yamen runners. Even after paying money, it was useless. Later, he was beaten into confessing and died in prison.
Tragedies like this were unfolding everywhere at that time. Almost everyone seemed to possess the ability of “soul-calling.” If someone disliked another person, they could use this crude method to frame them without any consequence.
Rumors are not terrifying; what is terrifying is that in a society where power was relatively scarce for ordinary people, the accusation of “soul-calling” became a means to maliciously harm others, and ordinary people mistakenly believed they had gained a “superpower.”
I didn’t know why Old Man Kong had suddenly brought up “soul-calling.” Could Qin Jing also be a “soul-calling incident”?
“You told me that the ancestor of that surnamed Bi was eaten of his internal organs by Qin Jing?” Old Man Kong asked, looking at me.
I nodded. “That’s what he said.”
“And what do you think? Can a bronze mirror really eat a person’s internal organs?”
I hesitated and said, “I don’t quite believe it.”
“What do you mean ‘don’t quite believe’? This is utter nonsense,” Old Man Kong said dismissively. “In my opinion, someone probably meticulously planned this incident to target the Bi family. Think about it, after this incident, wasn’t the Bi family unable to stay in their hometown? They eventually had to leave their ancestral land?”
I thought about it carefully. Although I wasn’t present when this happened, judging from what Bi Zhengxiang had said, it was indeed the case.
After the incident involving his ancestors, Bi Zhengxiang’s grandfather tried every means to investigate, but when he couldn’t find anything, he had to seek help from a Taoist priest. Later, a nameless great fire destroyed the Bi family…
The entire incident originated from Qin Jing. If, as Old Man Kong suggested, this was a setup for the Bi family, it was evident that the perpetrator had meticulously planned it for a long time.
Even that Taoist priest was probably part of the scheme.
After realizing this, I couldn’t help but ask, “Then what about Fatty?”
“Didn’t I tell you before?” Old Man Kong said. “In his case, it was nothing more than poisoning. Ancient alchemists spent all their time concocting hallucinogenic drugs that could induce hallucinations and cause nerve damage.”
“But why would you have me take Fatty to climb mountains to…”
Before I could finish, Old Man Kong interjected, “With his layers of fat, the best way to expel toxins is naturally through exercise.”
Hearing this, I was stunned, feeling a surge of frustration.
I had originally thought there was something profound and unfathomable involved, but the answer turned out to be so simple?
Exercise?
After listening to Old Man Kong, I suddenly realized that although the old man was a bit flippant, he knew quite a lot.
This was secondary, but most importantly, Old Man Kong had a very different perspective on things and could always quickly grasp the essence of the matter.
“Old Master Kong, what do you think about the matter of immortality?” I asked tentatively.
“Immortality?” Kong glared at me. “How can I think about it? It’s complete nonsense.”
“Meaning, you don’t believe such a thing truly exists in this world?”
“Of course I don’t believe it,” Old Man Kong said impatiently. “What era is this? Don’t let yourself be deluded by such things at your young age.”
I chuckled awkwardly. “I was just asking casually.”
“I know you deal in antiques, and I don’t know much about antiques, but I do know some history. Although there were indeed remarkable individuals in ancient times, and they left behind many things that are still inexplicable, I want to say that it’s fine to be curious, but don’t be obsessed.” Old Man Kong said.
I nodded. “I stand corrected.”
After leaving Old Man Kong, Fatty did not accompany me; he was left behind.
I called Bi Zhengxiang, and he sent Gai Hongkuang to pick me up and take me to his house.
Upon arriving at his house, I didn’t play coy. After all, Bi Zhengxiang wasn’t someone easily fooled, so I told him everything about my conversation with Old Man Kong.
After listening, Bi Zhengxiang pondered for five or six minutes without saying a word. Finally, he sighed and said, “I never thought my ancestors were actually plotted against… One truly can’t fathom the depths of human hearts.”
“Old Master Bi, do you agree with my conjecture?” I asked.
“You are correct. This was a soul-calling incident. Thinking back now, the Bi family was plotted against from the very beginning, and everything that happened afterward was orchestrated, leading us by the nose. Absorbing vital essence, eating internal organs – these were all just rumors fabricated by the other party.”
As Bi Zhengxiang spoke, he handed me a slip of paper.
I looked at it curiously and found it was a lab report.
“A while ago, I had someone analyze the substance on Qin Jing. It did contain several corrosive elements. Your friend’s hand rotted because he happened to have a wound on it, and those corrosive elements entered, causing his palm to rot and bleed,” Bi Zhengxiang explained.
I was wondering why Bi Zhengxiang had so readily accepted my conjecture, but it turned out he had already investigated it himself…