Liu Dashao felt as though someone had given him a little push, and then he began to rise slowly upward. Looking down, he was astonished to see another version of himself lying on the kang.
So it was really an out-of-body experience! Glancing at Goudan, he probably thought he was asleep, as he ignored the “other him.” Liu Dashao wanted to touch himself but found he couldn’t land on the ground. Before he knew it, he was about to hit the ceiling.
He quickly closed his eyes and raised his hands to shield himself. After a while, Liu Dashao opened his eyes and realized he had floated right out of the house.
The sight before him was indescribable. It felt like he was a kite, with everything beneath him far away. Looking down, he felt dizzy, fearing he might fall straight to the ground. He tried to walk forward but couldn’t move, just floating in mid-air.
He stretched out his hand to grab the roof tiles, but his hand passed right through the roof. Liu Dashao suddenly remembered—he was now just a yuan shen (soul), not a physical body. This was the “Yin Dun” technique from the Qi Men arts, similar to Zhang Enpu’s “crossing Yin,” except that this “Yin Dun” could be controlled by oneself.
The feeling of floating in mid-air was wonderful; the pedestrians on the ground couldn’t see his presence at all.
Liu Dashao shouted loudly at them, but no one heard him. However, just floating there wasn’t practical.
He thrust his chest forward, and his body whooshed forward—it turned out that yuan shen couldn’t walk with feet, only by moving the body.
Liu Dashao pushed downward and suddenly felt himself plunging. Feeling dizzy, he quickly leaned back and steadied himself.
Drifting forward, he saw villagers walking below. Liu Dashao wanted to play a prank. Uncle Li was carrying a load of fish. As he approached Liu Dashao, Liu Dashao rushed straight into him, feeling as if he had passed through his body.
Looking back, he saw Uncle Li pause momentarily, then sneeze loudly—”Ah-choo!”—rubbed his nose, and continued on his way with the fish.
Liu Dashao was secretly delighted; this was so much fun!
Drifting forward a bit more, Liu Dashao heard a noisy commotion from a courtyard—gongs and drums were beating loudly. Passing through the door, he saw a spirit medium performance happening.
(Note: “Spirit medium performance” refers to a traditional ritual where the living communicate with the dead. Usually, two people perform this ritual: the “First God” (the medium possessed by the spirit) and the “Second God” (the assistant). The First God is the one through whom the spirit communicates, while the Second God handles the drumming and interacts with the spirit to answer people’s questions. Fixed melodies and invocations are used to summon either a “deity” or the soul of a deceased person.)
Liu Dashao found it boring and was about to float away when the spirit medium suddenly shouted, “He’s here!” Then she abruptly overturned a jar, and Liu Dashao felt a strong suction pulling him toward the medium.
Oh no! It seemed the spirit medium had mistaken him for the deity she was trying to summon.
Sure enough, Liu Dashao felt himself being sucked toward her and crashed into her body. He had expected to pass through, but suddenly it felt like he was blocked. Liu Dashao stumbled forward a few steps and fell to the ground.
As he fell, he felt pain. Touching his face, he realized it was solid again.
Wait a second—why did his chin have a beard? Looking down, he saw he was wearing the spirit medium’s clothes!
Looking up, an elderly woman ran over, apparently trying to help him up.
As she ran, she cried out, “Great Immortal, are you alright?”
Upon hearing this, Liu Dashao panicked. It seemed he had somehow entered the medium’s body!
What should he do now? Completely flustered, he forced himself to stay calm. Since he had entered the spirit medium’s body, he might as well play along and see what would happen.
Liu Dashao cleared his throat and said, “Who summoned this Great Immortal?”
He felt his voice was deep and unfamiliar.
The elderly woman who had tried to help him up earlier, upon hearing his words, suddenly knelt to the ground and cried, “Oh Great Immortal! My youngest daughter has had a high fever for days and can’t recover! She’s been bedridden for several days now. She must have encountered an evil spirit! Great Immortal, please save my youngest daughter!”
Hearing her address him like this made Liu Dashao feel extremely awkward. He deliberately adopted a strange, mystical tone, pretending to be possessed by a deity, and said, “Lead this Great Immortal to see what evil spirit is causing this!”
The elderly woman then led Liu Dashao into the house.
Inside, on the kang, lay a pale young woman. She was delicate and pretty but looked very ill. Pointing at the young woman on the kang, the elderly woman said, “Great Immortal! This is my daughter. Great Immortal, please examine her!”
With that, the elderly woman burst into tears.
Liu Dashao remained silent and secretly activated his “Yin-Yang Eyes,” but after observing for a long time, he detected no signs of any evil spirits.
He bit his middle finger, wrote the character “Gang” (meaning “power”) with his blood on his palm, and held it against his forehead to look again—but still saw nothing.
How strange! Liu Dashao was certain she must be possessed by an evil spirit, yet he couldn’t see even a trace of malevolent energy.
After observing for a while, Liu Dashao gave up. He formed a hand seal and silently chanted, “Heaven and Earth reverse and advance, comings and goings follow the Qi Men, Yin Dun!”
As he finished speaking, Liu Dashao felt that sensation again—dizziness—and his yuan shen rapidly retreated. Looking back, he saw the spirit medium lying on the ground. As Liu Dashao passed through the roof, he glanced again at the woman on the kang. Something felt off, but he couldn’t quite place it. With a reluctant sigh, he floated away.
When Liu Dashao arrived at Goudan’s house, he passed straight through the wall. He saw Goudan sleeping inside, with his own physical body lying beside him. Liu Dashao floated down to the edge of the kang, leaned into his body, and suddenly felt as if he had been startled awake.
He shuddered violently, sat up, and touched his face. It felt like he had just woken from a dream. Liu Dashao got up from the kang, feeling slightly dizzy. As he stepped outside, he remembered the young woman from earlier and decided to head to her house again.
As he approached the woman’s house, he happened to see the spirit medium exiting, looking very confused. Liu Dashao used the Qi Men arts to observe the house’s yin and yang energies but still found nothing suspicious. Could it have been his imagination?
Helplessly, Liu Dashao returned home and continued studying the Qi Men secret techniques.
These three days passed quickly. Liu Dashao and Goudan didn’t go out. He was completely absorbed in studying the Taiyi Tiangang manual. Their unusual behavior didn’t escape Liu Laoshi’s notice, but he didn’t say anything, perhaps assuming the two were seriously studying. He even smiled secretly a few times, muttering, “Teachable indeed.”
On the third night, when everyone else was asleep, Liu Dashao quietly opened the door and walked toward the small grove.
The moon was especially bright tonight, so Liu Dashao wasn’t afraid at all. He could sense many evil presences around him, but he paid them no mind and continued walking.
When he reached the grove, he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Second Master Huang! Second Master Huang! Are you here?”
As soon as he finished shouting, he heard rustling in the bushes behind him. A snowy-white figure darted out—it was indeed Second Master Huang.
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