"Have you ever heard of ghost farming?" Bai Ze asked suddenly.

"Ghost breeding? Are you talking about raising imps? Bai Li just walked to the side of the bed, and was about to bend down to look under the bed, when he heard Bai Ze's words, he was immediately stunned.

"Have you heard of Li'er?" Bai Ze leaned over with interest.

"I've heard a few, but I don't know if it's the one you said." In this environment, Bai Li instinctively resisted the question Bai Ze had just asked.

"Tell me about it." Bai Ze gave Bai Li a look, and at the same time took out two pieces of rune paper from his pocket and pasted them on the backs of the little maid and Bai Li.

Bai Li watched him paste the rune paper on himself, but he didn't say anything, just subconsciously glanced under the bed.

"It is said that this kind of ghost raising technique is all small ghosts, and it is mainly infants under the age of one month. Newly deceased babies or babies that have been cut out of their mother's body before term are filled with a black jar filled with sigils, and then injected with some special liquid to keep the baby's body soaked. For one, these special liquids preserve the corpse so that the baby's corpse does not decay no matter how long it is soaked in the jar. Second, it creates the illusion that these babies have not left their mothers. ”

"Could there be such people? Sounds scary. After the little maid finished speaking, she quickly pursed her mouth.

"What else has Li'er heard?"

"It is said that the sealing of these jars used to hold the corpses of babies is also very particular, and they are not covered casually like ordinary pickles, nor are they just pasted with mud, but they are mixed with fragrant ash and rooster blood."

"Why does it have to be rooster blood?" The little girl asked curiously.

"I don't know." Bai Li shook his head: "I also heard it, after all, this kind of ghost raising technique is too evil, who would get this in ordinary people." ”

"I know." Bai Ze raised his hand: "I know why I have to use rooster blood." Legend has it that the rooster, that is, the rooster as the people say it, is able to pull the sun, and has the divinity of driving away evil spirits, so whether it is in the folk red and white, or in exorcism and divination, the chicken plays a very important role. ”

"I've heard and seen this, but I didn't expect there to be such a statement here." Bai Li thought of the situation when Aunt Zhang was at the funeral in Huaxi Village.

"Have you heard of the Shade on the road? This soul-luring path means that after the raw rooster has undergone the soul conjuring ritual, the soul of the deceased can attach itself to the rooster, leading the deceased to another place, and will not become a lonely ghost. These spirited roosters with the undead are usually released rather than slaughtered.

In addition, the common people pay attention to entering the soil for peace, but throughout the ages, there are also some people who have died in foreign lands. If these people want to return to their hometowns, they must pass through some waterways, rivers and so on along the way. But legend has it that ghosts are afraid to cross the river, so when transporting the coffin across a river or bridge, it is necessary to tie a rooster to the coffin and beat the rooster with a stick to make it crow, so as to help the deceased and make the soul cross the river. These roosters tied to the coffin are called soul-attracting chickens. ”

"Mr. Bai, is there really a soul-attracting chicken in this world? I've never heard of this before, and I think it's both funny and a little scary. The little girl swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and there was a slight light in her eyes when she looked at Bai Ze.

Since there is such a saying among the people, it proves that there is indeed a rooster like a soul-attracting chicken. However, not all roosters used to conjure spirits are alive, and rune paper can also be used instead of live roosters. The simplest is to cut the rune paper into the shape of a rooster and stick it in the coffin. ”

"What if you meet someone who doesn't know how to cut paper?"

"Simple, if you meet someone who doesn't know how to cut paper, or if you feel that the rooster you cut out is not like a rooster, then fold the rune paper into such a triangular shape. Look, this shape doesn't look like a rooster's belly. Then, cut out the head and tail of the rooster with red paper, paste them on these two positions of the rune paper, and then put them on the back of the deceased's pillow as a funeral object, which can also lead the deceased to the netherworld and find the yellow spring road he should take. Many rich and noble families, in order to save trouble, will also embroider the eight words or patterns on the life pillow of the deceased, such as 'the boy lights the lamp, and the golden rooster leads the way', which also has the same meaning. ”

"It's amazing, isn't it that with this golden rooster to guide the way, those who die can go to the underworld, reincarnate and be a new person?"

"It's okay to lead the way, but as for whether the deceased can be reincarnated and become a new person, it depends on what the one under the earth thinks. This person is not so easy to be. Bai Ze wiped his nose, leaned over to Bai Li's side and said, "In addition to the soul-attracting chicken, there is also a very special funeral custom among the people, called jumping chicken." ”

"Did you let the rooster jump into the well?"

"No, the well here does not refer to a well, but to the tomb where the coffin was buried during burial. Before the coffin is put into the ground, the main family needs to prepare a rooster, let the feng shui master stand in the tomb with the rooster in his arms, first recite a long mantra, then bite the cockscomb, scatter blood droplets in the tomb in the south, east, west, northwest and middle five directions, and then continue to chant the mantra and throw the rooster out, so that the rooster jumps out of the tomb. This process, known as the well-jumping chicken, is also known as masking, and is said to be able to drive away the evil spirit in the tomb. ”

"A ritual I've never seen before." The little girl blinked her eyes twice and asked Bai Li, "Girl, have you seen it?" ”

"Nope!" Bai Li shook his head lightly: "I haven't seen this jumping chicken, but when I was in the countryside, I saw someone holding a rooster and getting married." Is there anything to say about this holding a rooster to get married? ”

This is called a chicken instead of a son-in-law, usually the man's family chooses a little girl to hold a rooster instead of the groom, according to the head of the chicken and the woman to worship the church. After the ceremony is completed, a red cloth will be hung on the rooster's neck, and the chicken will be put into the hole to feed, and the rooster can be released only after the groom returns. In addition, there is also a situation where the man is bedridden all the year round, and the man's family is here to marry him. At this time, the man will also choose to use a rooster instead of the groom's chapel. In some places, there is also a marriage custom, called Yin marriage, which is a ceremony for the deceased man to marry the living bride. In short, the rooster is very busy and has to do everything. ”

Bai Lizheng listened carefully, but when he heard the last sentence Bai Ze said, he laughed out loud. Seeing Bai Ze sweeping his eyes, he quickly lowered his head and covered his mouth.