"I saw my brother fall in, and my head buzzed for a moment. I immediately rushed over to grab him, but it was too late. My brother had already fallen in.

"Brother, are you okay?" I shouted desperately into the hole.

"Ouch... You scared me. Where is this place? Don't worry, I'm fine, it's not deep!" My brother's trembling voice came from below.

"Grab onto my shovel, I'll pull you up!" I extended the shovel into the hole.

After the pillar pulled up the shovel and climbed up, we both came out of the vegetable cellar and sat on the ground panting heavily. At that moment, Uncle Li also walked over and asked, "What did you dig up? You both look terrified!"

My brother said angrily, "I just wanted to widen the vegetable cellar around, but as soon as the shovel went down, I fell in along with it, without any mental preparation, and ended up with a big fall. It stinks inside. Oh right, my shovel is still in there, I need to get it out later!"

Uncle Li walked to the edge of the vegetable cellar and indeed saw a large hole in the east side, dark and indistinct.

"Uncle Li, what is that? Did we find some treasure?" I, always optimistic, asked.

Uncle Li turned around, giving us a mysterious smile. "Treasure? Wishful thinking. Do you two really think Li Er Pang was bitten to death by that 'wild neck'? Let me tell you the truth, this is the home of the Ghostcatcher!"

"What? Are you saying there really are Ghostcatchers?" I looked at Uncle Li with a skeptical look.

Uncle Li squinted his eyes and said, "Ghostcatchers, also known as Soulcatchers or Soulgrabbers. In ancient times, there was a form of punishment called 'Ling Chi,' you should be familiar with it!"

"We know!" we both answered in unison.

"Ling Chi is when a criminal is subjected to three thousand six hundred cuts on their body within three days, and only after the final cut can the criminal die. Otherwise, the executor will be dismissed from their position. Think about it, how could a person endure to the end after being cut so many times? Even three hundred and sixty cuts would surely be unbearable!" Uncle Li explained.

The pillar nodded and said, "That's right, even if it's three hundred and sixty cuts, the person would have died from the pain long ago!"

I thought for a moment and said with a mischievous smile, "Could they have been given an anesthetic first?"

"Haha, indeed smart." Uncle Li chuckled and replied, "But back then, there wasn't always anesthesia available. In order to keep their job, the executioners used a method even more effective than anesthesia—souls."

"Soul!"

It turns out that before Ling Chi was performed in ancient times, Taoist priests would use soul-binding talismans to imprison the soul of the criminal within their body. This way, no matter how many cuts were made, the criminal would only feel pain and not die. However, after the execution, due to the excessive mental suffering endured by the criminal, the damaged soul needed another soul to guide it to reincarnation. Therefore, when removing the soul-binding talisman, another animal must be sacrificed to guide the soul to reincarnation.

However, if the talisman was not removed after the execution, or if the talisman was removed but there was no soul to guide it, then the soul would remain attached to the body, suffering eternal torment underground without being able to reincarnate.

And there are some risks to doing this, namely, when the burial site meets certain conditions, the soul attached to the corpse can control the already decayed body to kill nearby creatures, thus finding a way to release itself.

What conditions, you ask?

First, the burial site must be in a place with heavy energy, which can enhance the spirit of the corpse.

Second, a candle must be lit at the position of the Lifegate to control the body with the soul. This state is called a "false return."

After meeting these two conditions, the soul can control the body within a short period of time to kill nearby creatures. Even if it's just a rat, it can find a way to reincarnate. However, since most of the bones are buried underground, there are few creatures around, so the soul will use simple methods to reach underground within the range of the tomb, reaching out to kill creatures above ground, thus finding a way to reincarnate. However, the creatures killed are often humans, hence the origin of the Ghostcatcher.

Shuangpai Village belongs to the Dalong Mountain. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there were two small countries, Yan and Ji, and the capital of Yan was in the Dalong Mountain area. This place has always been a battleground for military strategists, and every inch of land has buried many heroes and heroes. The one we just dug up is actually an ancient tomb, and the owner of the tomb is the criminal who was subjected to Ling Chi.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

After Li Er Pang's death, Uncle Li investigated the surroundings and concluded that there must be a problem under the toilet.

First, the toilet was located in the southwest corner of the Li family's courtyard, belonging to the Kun position in the Bagua, which inherently had heavy energy.

Second, the problem lay in the iron tube Li Er Pang used to light up because on the night of his death, at the ugly hour, the Huajian, Du Jing, and Sheng Jin opened and the death gate was deepened in the southwest, while underneath the burning iron tube was exactly the position of the northeast corner of the grave's Shengmen, equivalent to lighting a candle at the position of the Shengmen, so the corpse in the grave below would move and reach out from below, grabbing and killing Li Er Pang.

After everything became clear, Uncle Li deliberately let me discover the snake collecting Qi in the toilet, diverting everyone's attention. Coincidentally, it turned out to be a "wild neck," which made everyone believe that the pillar was bitten by a snake, thus dispelling the fear of the Ghostcatcher.

Then he let us come over to help, pretending to dig the vegetable cellar, but cracking the Ghostcatcher was the real deal. If he had told us the truth at that time, we would definitely not have believed it, so he pretended to dig the cellar to help.

Uncle Li thought the coffin was buried directly underground, but we dug up a tomb chamber, which was even better and saved a lot of trouble.

After listening to Uncle Li's story, we were as if we were listening to a fairy tale, with a look of horror mixed with curiosity and doubt.

Uncle Li looked at us and smiled, "Hehe, you two don't believe it much, do you? As long as you have the courage, tonight I'll show you the true face of the Ghostcatcher. Are you afraid?"

"Ah... Okay, it's a deal, there's nothing we two are afraid of!" The pillar replied.

"Indeed, Uncle didn't misjudge, you two are really brave!" Uncle Li patted the pillar's shoulder.

I thought for a moment and said, "Uncle Li, since Er

Pang is already dead, has the soul of this Ghostcatcher already reincarnated?"

Uncle Li looked at me appreciatively, "You're right, but did you see the several dead rats in the toilet? Let me tell you, it's because after the Ghostcatcher killed Er Zhu, the soul didn't follow to reincarnate, but instead killed those rats. This indicates that the person who was subjected to Ling Chi after execution not only didn't have a soul to guide them, but the soul-binding talisman on their body was also not removed. Even if there was a soul to guide them, they couldn't reincarnate."

"Will you remove the talisman?" I asked in confusion.

"Of course, hehe... why else would we dig it up?" Uncle Li said, "Alright, the air inside has dissipated enough, let's go inside the tomb chamber."

The tomb chamber wasn't very large, and it was quite low. The pillar was tall, so he had to bend over to avoid hitting his head. Under the illumination of three pine oil torches, the entire tomb chamber looked bright.

In the center of the tomb chamber, there was an open stone coffin, with the lid lying askew on the left side. Seeing that the stone coffin was already open, I felt nervous.

Seeing our expressions, Uncle Li chuckled a few times and said, "Is that all the courage you two have? Do you see the lid on the ground? That's the guy who was lying in the coffin two nights ago opening it himself. I didn't expect him to have such strength. Looks like he's been around for quite a while." With that, he walked to the stone coffin, and we followed.

The stone coffin was about three meters long and two meters wide, entirely gray-blue, with thick walls. Inside the stone coffin was a decayed wooden coffin. In the middle of the coffin, a complete set of bones lay flat, snow-white in color, except for a white mark on the right hand, probably left behind when he grabbed Er Zhu two nights ago.

"Why are the bones so white?" Uncle Li muttered to himself as he circled the stone coffin, seemingly discovering something. He picked up the shovel that had fallen with the pillar and used the shovel head to scrape the side of the stone coffin. Soon, a layer appeared, revealing a compartment hidden within. It turns out the stone coffin was so thick because it had a compartment hidden in the middle.

The compartment wasn't wide, only about two centimeters, and was filled with white substance. Uncle Li picked up some with his hand, smelled it, and sighed, shaking his head as he said to the corpse inside, "What a sin, what a sin, old buddy, what kind of crime did you commit? Not only was your soul imprisoned after death, but you were also roasted with saltpeter powder. No wonder your bones are so white. Such a sin!"

After speaking, he shook his head and walked out of the cellar, and we hurriedly followed.

"Uncle Li, what's wrong with you? What's that white stuff? What's its purpose?" I followed Uncle Li, bombarding him with questions.

Uncle Li sighed heavily and said, "It seems this person committed a great sin. That white stuff is saltpeter powder, placed in the compartment of the stone coffin. Not only can it keep the coffin extremely dry, but its main purpose is to roast the soul inside the coffin, keeping it in constant torment. Even if it reincarnates, it will surely be an incomplete person!"

We both listened, looking bewildered.

Uncle Li's house had three rooms to the north, with a kitchen on the east side used for cooking, and a shed on the west side for storing firewood and other miscellaneous items. In the center of the yard was a large jujube tree, under which was a stone table, where the three of us sat around drinking tea and chatting.

"Uncle Li, do you know what era this tomb is from?" the pillar asked.

"Um, let me think. Judging from the cloud dragon and fire cloud patterns carved on the coffin, it should be from the Western Han Dynasty. The method of roasting souls with saltpeter powder also appeared around that time. But it's been over two thousand years now, and the tomb chamber hasn't collapsed. It's incredible."

Uncle Li replied, "The owner of this tomb chamber must have had a very peculiar story. If only we could know!"

I sighed, "You should become an archaeologist when you grow up. Then you'll be able to decipher many stories from ancient relics."

The pillar smiled and said to me, "Yeah, this tomb owner must have had a story." Uncle Li finished speaking and looked at the sky as if pondering something.

"So what do we do next? Help him reincarnate?" the pillar asked.

Uncle Li lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said, "Yes, tonight we'll come to rescue the soul that's been roasted for two thousand years. Hehe, it's just right for you two to broaden your horizons."

"You're really amazing, Uncle Li. Who exactly are you, and how do you know so much?" I asked.

"It's not time to say yet, hehe, you'll know in the future. Well, you two are tired enough today, go back and rest, and I'll prepare some things. Come over after dinner." With that, Uncle Li got up and went back to the house.