I don't know if you have experienced or carefully observed, in the countryside, when cremation was not practiced, the funeral rites of earth burial were extremely grand.

As for the procedure of this funeral, each place has its own rules, and we will go into more detail about this later.

However, in these different funeral ceremonies, one thing is the same, that is, on the day of the funeral, everyone carries the coffin from the house to the cemetery, and in the process of walking from the house to the cemetery, the filial son and grandson must wear white filial piety clothes, follow behind the coffin, and cry bitterly for the dead.

And among these filial sons and grandsons, there are two people who are the most important.

The first was the eldest son of the deceased, who walked at the head of the procession, supported by two men, holding a wooden plate on which was placed a pot of wine and several large bowls of tribute, to be used when he was buried.

The second, generally the eldest grandson of the deceased, without the eldest grandson, is the outer grandson.

This grandson has to hold a white flag in his hand.

It is said that it is a white flag, but in fact it is just a white flag made of white paper, but the flagpole of this white flag is more exquisite.

First of all, the material of this flagpole must be willow branches.

Secondly, the willow branch must have been cut from the riverbank or from a willow tree on the wasteland on the day of burial.

So why do you have to hold a white flag, and why does this white flag have to be willow branches?

In fact, this white flag has another name, that is, the "mourning staff", and its function is equivalent to the spirit flag, or the spirit lamp.

As we said earlier, people have three souls and seven souls, and the three souls refer to the heavenly soul, the earth soul, and the life soul, but human death is not like a lamp going out, the heavenly soul returns to the sky, and the earth soul returns to the earth.

But after all, the person is dead, and the wisp of life soul is not very safe in the corpse, and sometimes it will break away from the corpse, at this time, this white flag, like a soul-attracting lamp or a soul flag, is needed to guide the soul and keep guarding the corpse to ensure that it does not leave the corpse.

As for why this willow tree has such a function, while other trees do not, it is rumored that this willow tree was transplanted from Putuo Mountain in the South China Sea, and at the beginning, it was only carried by Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Everyone should know that Guanyin Bodhisattva has been dragging a white jade jade bottle in his hand, and in this bottle, the branch inserted is the pure willow branch.

Therefore, the willow trees in the world are all from the pure willow branches in the jade bottle in the hands of Guanyin Bodhisattva, so this willow has the ability to drive away evil spirits and avoid ghosts.

What's more, the willow tree belongs to yin, it is a yin wood, it is the wood of the ghost world, not only has the function of summoning spirits, but also can touch ghosts.

Because of this, there is a saying that wicker fights ghosts, using wicker to fight ghosts, every time you hit it, the ghost is three inches shorter, so as the saying goes, "Wicker fights ghosts, the more you fight, the smaller it gets."

As I stood under the willow tree and looked at the silky willow branches, I immediately understood Anne Bai's thoughts.

Without saying a word, I broke a few willow branches with my hands, held them tightly in my hands, and jumped into the river without hesitation.

I can't swim, so I also chanted a water avoidance spell before jumping down.

I was ordinary in the water, and I made it to the two water ghosts with difficulty.

They were still pushing the fat man's head into the water.

I lifted the wicker and pumped it at the water ghost with the fat man's fingers.

"Smack......

It really hit the water ghost.

However, just like an ordinary twig hitting him, there was no reaction, no pain or itching.

The water ghost pretended to be and looked at me viciously.

I hurried back a long way.

The water ghost may only be so focused on dealing with the fat man that he has no time to take care of me, so he will not care about me.

I thought to myself, something went wrong.

It stands to reason that it shouldn't.

The willow branch whips the ghost, no problem.

My mind was spinning and thinking.

What did I forget?

What went wrong?

I recalled the contents of the book "The Spell of Maoshan Technique".

Willow branches, willow branches......

It occurred to me that I had forgotten the spell.

To use willow branches to fight ghosts, the first thing is to dip the willow branches in cold water, and the second is to cooperate with the spell.

I was already in the water myself, the willow branches were soaking wet, and I missed the spell.

I walked back behind the water ghost and chanted the incantation:

"Joyful,

Sunrise in the East,

I give the talisman,

Sweeping ominous,

Spit out the fire of the mountains,

The light of Fu Feimen,

Mention the strange all over the world,

Break the plague and eat King Kong with the year,

Subdue the demon dead,

Turned into auspiciousness,

Taishang Lao Junwu,

Haste as a law!

Chi! ”

Fearing that it would not be powerful enough, I soaked the willow branch in the water again, fished it out of the water, and pumped it vigorously at the water ghost.

"Smack......

Suddenly the flames were flying!

I never thought it would be so powerful.

I myself was so shocked that I retreated.

You can imagine how miserable the water ghost is.

"Whew......"

I heard the screams of the water ghost in front of me.

The water ghost howled in pain, let go, and kept stroking the part of my back where I had whipped him.

I saw a deep mark on his back, and gradually, his body began to twist continuously, receding the color of the water ghost on his body, revealing his true face.

Hideous-looking ghosts!

From that scar, black liquid spilled out.

He was in pain, twisted, and his face was even more hideous and terrifying.

I didn't look at him, I just walked over him, waved the willow branch, and whipped at the other water ghost.

What I didn't expect was that before I could hit it, the water ghost, seeing the willow branch in my hand, begged for mercy directly:

"Don't hit me, don't hit me, I know it's wrong, I surrender, I admit defeat."

I didn't care if he begged for mercy or not, and continued to pump while chanting the incantation.

"Whew......"

Suddenly, the fat man in the water was out of danger, and the two water ghosts showed their prototypes.

It's really a water ghost in disguise.

But at this point, they could no longer do evil.

I threatened them and let them ashore.

And they did.

So, I, the fat man, Anne Bai, stood on the shore, facing two hideous-looking but somewhat embarrassed ghosts lying on the ground.

By this time, they had completely shed their disguises and revealed their true colors, and they kept stroking the wound on their backs with their hands, sticking out their long tongues, detouring their backs, licking the black liquid that flowed out of the wounds.

But I have no sympathy for them!

I still clutched the willow branch in my hand.

As soon as they came up, I used a willow branch to beat them both incessantly.

I don't care if you surrender or not, whether you admit defeat or not, and kill so many lives, I want to seek justice for those dead souls today.

This time, though, I didn't chant the mantra.

I'm really just teaching them a lesson!

(End of chapter)