"OK."
Hearing that his grandfather wanted to take him to visit relatives and friends, Gu Yun was naturally willing.
He liked this supernatural world very much and wanted to visit more.
However, the old man did not take him immediately. Instead, he waited at Iijima's old house all afternoon. It was not until 11 o'clock in the evening that his grandfather called him to his side.
"Out of body experience?"
"Um."
Grandpa smiled and said: "Those friends of mine have been dead for many years, but they still live in Huangquan and have not embarked on the road to the afterlife."
The place Grandpa will take Gu Yun to tonight is nowhere else but the place where all living beings return after death - the other side of the underworld.
"The underworld is in another dimension, where things in the material world don't exist."
They could use spiritual vision to enhance their existence and come into contact with the spirit of the underworld, but that would be too troublesome.
The best way is to leave the body and then go to the afterlife according to the rules like an ordinary deceased person.
"The most difficult thing about going to Huangquan is not how to get there, but how to come back after going there."
This has nothing to do with the strength of the warlock. It mainly depends on spells and connections.
The former refers to a method similar to psychic vision, which can travel through the world, similar to drilling loopholes in the rules of the world, so as to escape opportunistically.
Networking means whether you know God or not.
The status of the gods is higher than the spirits of the underworld, so they can bring some souls back to the world.
Of course, the soul here refers to people who have not died.
The underworld has its own rules. The dead cannot come back, and the guidance of gods is of no use.
"You can't come back if you die?"
"Can't come back."
Grandpa said: "But our souls just left the body and are not considered dead. The laws of hell cannot control us."
Therefore, Gu Yun and Grandpa can go to the underworld, and then return to the world with the help of gods or using spiritual vision.
Grandpa's spiritual vision is not advanced enough, and he cannot travel through various worlds at will like Mr. Kogoro.
However, my grandfather knew many powerful gods. In the past, before going to Huangquan, he would make an appointment with them in advance or borrow some artifacts so that he could travel back and forth between life and death.
"Xiao Kong..."
Gu Yun asked: "Is it okay?"
"sure!"
Grandpa smiled and said, "With Master Tianhu, it will be much more convenient for you, Gu Yun, to travel between the two places than it is for me, Grandpa."
Friends are just friends after all, and the gods are willing to help Grandpa.
They have simple personalities, and helping grandpa is like making friends with him. They wish he would come and play with them more often.
But Grandpa felt a little embarrassed for troublesome people again and again.
Conceptually speaking, grandpa is a 'no too much contact' person. He had mentioned to Gu Yun before not to go too deep into another world.
"It doesn't matter Xiaokong, she is one of our own!"
Kong Huan is different. She is Gu Yun's fox, and it is only natural to help Gu Yun travel to and from the underworld.
"We have a god in our family," Grandpa said with a smile, "It really makes people feel at ease."
"Okay, let's get started."
The grandfather and grandson came to the bedroom, where there were two quilts, one large and one small.
The two told Granny Yaeko and Juanjuan Iijima that they would rest in the same room tonight.
"Prajna, Xiaobai."
Gu Yun summoned two shikigami: "After my grandfather and I went to Huangquan, I asked you to take care of my body."
After the soul leaves the body, the body will enter a deep sleep state.
At this time, if someone is aware of it and destroys it, the spirit body will be judged as 'dead'.
If he happened to be in Huangquan again at that time, he would not leave.
Then, the entire underworld will directly regard you as a 'dead person'.
In other words, you can't come back.
Even with the help of gods, you can't come back.
"Leave it to us, Master."
With Prajna and Xiaobai here, and the several higher-level demon-level shikigami prepared by grandpa, no one can touch their bodies unless the big demon comes in person.
"Um."
Gu Yun lay down and then silently recited a spell in his heart.
Not long after, a person who looked exactly like Gu Yun appeared from his body like smoke.
"Is this an out-of-body experience?"
Gu Yun glanced at himself lying down and felt even more curious.
"The state of the soul is indeed very convenient."
"Why?"
When Gu Yun heard this, his eyes widened and he asked, "You, are you grandpa?"
The person standing in front of Gu Yun at this time was not an old man, but a young man wearing an old kimono.
He wears round glasses, looks handsome and gentle, like a Japanese scholar from the previous era.
"Um?"
As the young man spoke, his body shape changed and he took on the appearance of an old man again: "Just now was my appearance when I was young. Is this the first time Gu Yun has seen me?"
"So grandpa was like this when he was young!"
Gu Yun asked: "Could it be said that in the spirit state, we can change our appearance at will?"
After saying that, Gu Yun also started to use his spiritual power, wanting to become an adult.
It's a pity that no matter what he does, Gu Yun is still the same as he is now.
"Um…"
Grandpa looked at Gu Yun's actions and laughed loudly: "Little Gu Yun, do you want to become an adult?"
"I tried it just now and it doesn't seem to work."
Gu Yun found that he couldn't grow bigger, which made him a little confused.
Therefore, Gu Yun looked at the old man expectantly, hoping that he would teach him how to change his age at will while in the spirit state.
"Is there a spell that can make a spirit body grow older?"
"Well, if it's a cover-up, there is."
"But really getting bigger," Grandpa shook his head and said, "I can't do it."
"its not right!"
Gu Yun just used spiritual vision to see his grandfather's youthful state. He definitely didn't use blindness or illusion, but really made his soul become younger.
"This is soul engraving."
To put it simply, it is to artificially imprint a spirit body for easy use when you grow old in the future.
In fact, many powerful female sorcerers will keep their spiritual bodies in the most youthful and beautiful state.
However, this imprinting technique is unique.
In other words, you can only freeze one form, and you can change it, but you can only imprint one form at a time, and it must be the state you are in at that time.
Gu Yun's physical body is still a child.
If he becomes a teenager in the future, he can freeze his youth form. When he gets old, he can still choose to freeze his form to keep his spirit body young.
But if you want to get bigger now, it's impossible.
"Maybe there are other spells that can do this kind of thing, but grandpa really doesn't know that kind of spell."
Grandpa said helplessly: "I will teach you the spell later, but at your age Gu Yun, you probably won't be able to use this spell for the time being, right?"
"Um…"
Gu Yun said speechlessly: "In addition to being beautiful, this spell also has..."
"Ah."
Grandpa laughed softly, then changed into a young man's posture, and opened his arms for Gu Yun to observe carefully.
"I see."
Gu Yun knew the purpose of this spell.
Human beings will age, and the body after aging will have various disadvantages, such as lack of agility, poor athletic ability, etc.
This point will still exist even if it becomes a spirit body.
This is not to say that ghosts will also be tired, but it is a special psychological suggestion that binds the soul and perception of the spirit body.
Now, through his out-of-body experience, Grandpa is able to shape his spirit body into what it looked like when he was young.
In this way, even if his physical body becomes old, Grandpa can still fight the enemy with his spiritual body and regain the fighting ability and reaction speed he once had.
"Sometimes you encounter monsters that are very good at physical arts. They are very fast and like to bypass shikigami and attack warlocks directly."
Grandpa was not used to his youthful state, so he returned to his old appearance: "In this case, an old body is easily targeted."
It is much easier for a young spirit body to fight than a decayed body of seventy or eighty years old.
If one day in the future, Gu Yun is physically injured.
Then when he encounters something, he may need to fight the enemy in an out-of-body form.
The posture of the soul and the physical body are definitely gone, but the huge spiritual power will not change.
"Okay, let's go."
"where are we going?"
"Kamakura."
"Is it that far?"
Many people think that by becoming a spirit, they can walk through walls at will and go wherever they want.
But in fact, this idea is wrong.
Because ghosts simply cannot enter the doors and walls of inhabited houses.
Every building has its own 'feng shui aura', which is an invisible barrier that blocks spirits.
Only with the owner's permission can you ignore this obstacle and come and go at will.
Gu Yun and Grandpa are powerful warlocks, so they can ignore this weak barrier. However, the straight line distance from Iijima's old house to Kamakura makes it impossible for the two of them to rush directly.
"I'll summon Xiao Kong's divine chariot."
"Oh, wait a minute."
Grandpa stopped him and said, "This time, let's use the normal method to get through."
"The conventional method?"
"If there is no shikigami and no divine chariot, how can an ordinary warlock go to the underworld in a spiritual state?"
The ordinary warlock that grandpa calls him is probably not going to make Mr. Daomo cry and faint in the toilet.
A certain bald man said: Do you think all warlocks can have their souls leave the body like you? !
"good."
Gu Yun is now a warlock apprentice who follows his grandfather, and he obeys his instructions in everything.
After leaving the old house in Iijima, the grandfather and grandson were different from ghosts. They were not floating in the air, but down to earth, which made Gu Yun a little strange.
I saw him jump up and found that he didn't feel as light as a swallow.
"Why can't you even fly when your soul is out of body?"
When Gu Yun asked, Grandpa explained: "We don't really die, so we are still bound by the laws of this world."
"If you want to fly, you can go and see "The Art of Divine Movement" when you come back."
Divine travel is an ancient magic technique passed down from the East. It is divided into two types: day travel and night travel, collectively referred to as the art of divine travel.
"Is it the one in the study?"
Gu Yun thought of the magic books he saw in his grandfather's collection, which contained the method of traveling day and night.
However, because his grandfather collected so many spells and the uses of the mind travel were too few, Gu Yun had not had time to read this book.
"With Gu Yun's talent, you can probably learn it in no time."
Grandpa said and stopped.
Gu Yun looked around and found that the two of them had passed through the woods outside the old house and came to a road beside a field.
"Warlocks can fly in the sky through out-of-body experiences and fugue travel."
The speed is not particularly fast, but it is not slow either. Anyway, it is definitely more convenient than a car.
"What I want to do now is how ordinary people can come to various places in the spiritual state."
As the old man spoke, he stretched out his hand and recited a mantra, as if he was summoning something.
"Hu~hu~~"
Soon, Gu Yun saw two clusters of bright car lights approaching from far away at the end of the originally dark road.
"This is…"
Gu Yun is now in a spiritual state, so he can clearly see the strange aura emitting around this strange bus: "Is this a strange story, grandpa?"
"Um."
In Japan, there are many urban legends such as drifting hearses, ghost buses heading to hell, and taxis that kill people in the middle of the night.
These urban legends will continue to produce various hearses.
The hearse itself has little combat effectiveness.
But because of the characteristics of hearses, they can travel across places quickly, which is very convenient.
"Most hearses are not dangerous. The probability of ordinary people encountering them is about the same as winning the lottery."
Grandpa looked at the ghost bus parked in front of him. There were already some people sitting in it. Their eyes were dull and their faces were pale, which was very strange.
"But a hearse is a hearse after all," Grandpa said: "Sometimes if you don't pay attention, they may be taken to the virtual world and ghosts."
"Is it so dangerous?"
"So you need to have plenty of knowledge about ghost stories."
Grandpa said: "You have to understand the origin of these hearses and why they were born."
"Forehead…"
Gu Yun asked: "But grandpa, didn't you say that you don't understand ghost stories?"
"You brat, don't you look at whose territory this is?!"
Grandpa really doesn’t understand, but he can’t be ignorant of the strange stories near his home, right?
"That's right, haha."
Gu Yun smiled and scratched his head, and quickly followed his grandfather's footsteps and boarded the ghost bus with him.
"Are these all weird stories?"
"not all."
Grandpa ignored the driver whose face was covered in blood in the driver's seat and calmly handed the two coins to the conductor.
Well, the conductor is also a pale female ghost.
"The drivers, passengers, and conductors here are all lonely ghosts who do not want to go to the underworld for various reasons."
Grandpa and Gu Yun found a seat and sat down, and then began to communicate as if there was no one else around.
The ghosts seemed to know that the two of them were not easy to mess with, and had no intention of actively scaring or provoking them.
"To be precise, this hearse ghost story only belongs to this bus."
"Then what's going on with them?"
Gu Yun asked: "As for ghosts, aren't you afraid of being swallowed up by ghost stories?"
He had seen the Slit Girl before, and had seen many poor souls trapped in ghosts by ghost stories.
But now, ghosts and ghost buses exist at the same time...
"Are they bound by this hearse ghost story?"
Gu Yun asked: "Should we save him?"
"No," Grandpa said, "Besides, they're not tied to the hearse."
The relationship between humans, ghost stories and ghosts is very complicated.
Strange tales devour humans and torture their souls.
But if the person has died and turned into a ghost, then they are not afraid of ghost stories.
"What ghost stories really need is the full range of emotions in living people."
Grandpa: "However, it is difficult for ghosts to produce strong emotional fluctuations. For ghost stories, they are waste that is neither delicious nor useless to eat."
This is why Kaitan regards living people as food, but will not touch dead ghosts and ghosts.
"And one of the prerequisites for the strange story about this bus is that there is a living person riding on it late at night."
Note that 'living person' is specifically stated here.
After all, you said that the protagonist of the horror story dreamed up by humans is a ghost. Does this still have a sense of substitution?
What you want to scare is the living, not the dead!
As we all know, any urban ghost story is basically a 'person' who encounters various supernatural events and then never returns.
How could there be such a weird saying that a ghost is waiting for the bus at night?
Even if ghosts are involved, it must be that they encountered strange stories while alive and were still tortured after death.
Anyway, Gu Yun had never heard of a horror story where the protagonist was a ghost and encountered a ghost story.
"The reason why ghost stories continue to torture their dead souls after devouring living people."
“One is to extract their surplus value,” Grandpa said, “and the other is because these victims don’t know they are dead.”
Only this kind of 'wandering soul' can retain human emotions during life and continue to provide nourishment for ghost stories.
Theoretically, if a person can understand that he has died after being swallowed by ghost stories, then he will be led by the power of Huangquan and be liberated.
The most troublesome thing is someone like Tamura, who doesn't know he's dead.
This made him, as if trapped in a fantasy, keep repeating the evening when he encountered the cracked woman.
As for these ghosts in the hearse.
They died violently, and their grievances are still in their hearts, and they will not let go of their hatred in the world and go to the underworld.
"According to Grandpa, we are spiritual beings now, almost like ghosts."
"Then why did we encounter this car?"
They are in a spirit state now, so it stands to reason that Kaitan would not be attracted to the dead.
Gu Yun did see the spell that his grandfather recited before, so if he actively summoned it, could the ghost call the hearse?
"My spell is the medium of summons."
"But the reason why the hearse can be summoned by ghosts lies in the hearse-type ghost story itself."
When many people hear ghost stories about hearses, they always say, "Someone got into the car and found many pale people in the car."
In other words, hearse ghost stories are usually accompanied by ghosts and ghosts.
"Over time, this type of hearse has acquired the ability to carry spirits."
Ghosts will use these hearses to travel to various places.
And warlocks like Grandpa occasionally ride on them to facilitate travel.
Grandpa has lived on this land for sixty or seventy years, and he knows very well what supernatural happenings there are nearby.
"Are there many hearses like this?"
"Not all urban legends will become strange stories," Grandpa said, "This requires enough prayer power."
Just like the ghost bus summoned by grandpa, its driving range is very large, far beyond the road near Iijima's old house.
And to encounter it, there are many prerequisites.
In the end, this ghost bus isn’t going to kill anyone.
"Its effect is probably to make people who get on the bus fall asleep and find themselves in another city when they wake up."
Not all ghost stories are like the cracked girl, there are all kinds of weird stories.
The Ghost Bus is obviously one of them.
"In addition, the resurrection speed of hearse-type monsters is much faster than other monsters."
It’s not like grandpa never thought about the weird idea of withdrawal.
However, although the hearse itself is weak in strength, its regeneration speed is frighteningly fast.
Among ghost stories, the stronger the existence, the longer the resurrection cycle.
And things like Ghost Bus.
You destroy it today, and a new one will appear tomorrow night.
No matter how idle a warlock is, he won't be so bored.
"When you encounter weird stories like this in the future," Grandpa suggested, "As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, just ignore it."
"Um."
Gu Yun is not the kind of person who can't tolerate sand in his eyes.
The existence of ghost stories is closely related to human speech. You can't eradicate it from the source, so there is no point in eradicating it multiple times.
