Chapter 100 – Soul Loss Syndrome

The return journey was twice as fast as the trip there. When they parked the car in front of Treasure House again, Heipi, who was guarding the door, rushed over in a flash, yanked open the car door, and shouted at Wei Yang, “Ah Yang, hurry! Uncle Qi is waiting in the courtyard!”

Knowing the situation was urgent, Wei Yang didn’t waste any time. He quickly led the Little Celestial Master into the courtyard. Uncle Qi wasn’t in the workshop anymore; instead, he was pacing anxiously in the small courtyard with his hands behind his back. When he saw the two of them enter, he immediately came forward and got straight to the point, “Ah Yang, you’ve taken on cases involving exorcisms before, right? How confident are you in handling something like this?”

Wei Yang didn’t make any grand promises and replied succinctly, “Uncle Qi, we’ve handled a few such cases, but I can’t say we have full confidence. You’ll need to tell us more about the situation first.”

This response immediately put Uncle Qi at ease. Those who truly knew their craft never made exaggerated claims, and this straightforward attitude was exactly what he needed. Without further hesitation, he began explaining, “It’s about Old Yao, the one I mentioned to you earlier. I just got in touch with his son, who said that last night Old Yao suddenly fell ill at home. He seemed to have become completely unresponsive, like a dementia patient. He didn’t eat or speak, just sat motionless on the bed in the middle of the night, scaring the family half to death. They immediately took him to the hospital, but after several hours of examination, they found that his heart and blood vessels were all normal, and there was no family history of mental illness. The doctors could only diagnose it as ‘dissociative stupor,’ a type of hysteria. Young Yao knows I have a wide network of contacts, so he called to ask if this might be a case of evil possession.”

The so-called “dissociative stupor,” explained in more scientific terms, refers to a deep state of consciousness disorder where the patient maintains a fixed posture for a long time, with no speech or voluntary movement. They show no response to light, sound, or pain stimuli, but the rest of their bodily functions remain normal. Although it falls under the category of hysteria, “dissociative stupor” has always been the most difficult to diagnose in terms of cause, and science has yet to provide a reasonable explanation for it.

However, while science can’t explain it, superstition can. Many older people refer to this state of stupor as “soul loss syndrome,” which is often believed to be caused by evil possession. It seems that Old Yao, having been immersed in the antique circle for so long and with a deep family background, his son was the first to think of this possibility.

Before Wei Yang could speak, Zhang Xiuqi, who was standing to the side, spoke up, “Soul loss syndrome.”

“Exactly. I also thought it might be soul loss syndrome, which is why I asked Ah Ming to call you back.” Uncle Qi didn’t elaborate further, but Wei Yang understood the gist of it. Uncle Qi knew about Zhang Xiuqi’s soul loss incident. Since Longhu Mountain could keep someone who had lost their soul functioning normally, they must have some unique methods for dealing with soul loss syndrome. That’s why Uncle Qi had immediately called them back.

However, Wei Yang thought even further ahead than Uncle Qi. Old Yao’s illness was a key to finding the hidden enemy. If this had happened to someone else, Wei Yang might have considered whether it would have any negative impact on Zhang Xiuqi, but given the current situation, how could he let this opportunity slip? More importantly, just after obtaining a handwritten manuscript from the Mao Mountain Sect, Old Yao had fallen victim to evil possession. Was this a coincidence, or was it orchestrated by someone?

Without hesitation, Wei Yang immediately made a decision, “Uncle Qi, Old Yao lives in the provincial capital, right? Let’s go there directly to assess the situation.”

Surprised by Wei Yang’s prompt agreement, Uncle Qi didn’t hesitate either and nodded immediately, “Alright, let’s go together. It’ll take less than two hours by highway.”

With such a decisive elder leading the way, there was no need for further discussion. In just over an hour, the three of them arrived at the Central Hospital in the provincial capital. Old Yao’s family had arranged a private room for him, both for his comfort and to await further examination.

Seeing Uncle Qi arrive, Old Yao’s son, Yao Shuping, immediately came forward, “Uncle Qi, you’re finally here. This situation is really… Thank you for coming to help us…”

His voice was choked with emotion, clearly shaken by the incident. Uncle Qi patted his shoulder, “It’s alright, Shuping. I’ve brought someone with me. Let’s have the Master take a look first.”

Hearing this, Yao Shuping immediately looked behind Uncle Qi, trying to spot the Master. Before he could react, the young man with a cold expression walked to the bedside and reached out to touch Old Yao’s face.

“Hey! What are you doing!” Yao Shuping was instantly triggered. What was this guy doing? He just walked in and started touching his father’s face without any regard for the old man’s condition!

Uncle Qi quickly grabbed Yao Shuping’s arm and said in a deep voice, “Shuping, this is the Master we’ve invited. Don’t panic, let him assess the situation first.”

While Uncle Qi was speaking, Zhang Xiuqi had already extended his index finger and drew a pattern on Old Yao’s forehead. His fingertip was coated with a bit of limonite powder, and as the faint gray powder touched the old man’s forehead, his rigid body immediately trembled, then tilted to the side and collapsed onto the bed with a thud.

This startled Yao Shuping into a cold sweat. He broke free from Uncle Qi’s grip and rushed forward, “How could you… Dad?”

His angry shout turned into a questioning tone as he saw that the old man’s eyes were now slightly closed, his breathing steady, as if he had fallen asleep. Just moments ago, his father had been sitting motionless on the bed like a wooden doll, unresponsive no matter what the doctors did. How could this young man make him fall asleep with just a touch of his finger?

His lips trembled as he turned back to seek help. Before Uncle Qi could move, the other young man standing beside him stepped forward and smiled, “Mr. Yao, right? My senior brother knows a bit about these things. He’ll take a good look at Old Yao, but I’d like to ask a few questions first. Before Old Yao fell ill, did anything unusual happen in your home?”

The question caught Yao Shuping off guard, but the young man’s expression was so professional, just like a doctor taking a patient’s history. After a slight hesitation, he answered honestly, “Nothing major… Oh, there was a break-in a few days ago that made my father really angry, but my brother-in-law already handled it.”

It turned out that three days ago, Old Yao’s house had been burglarized. The thief didn’t just take money but also ransacked the entire house. The house was in the old residential area of the Railway Bureau, which, although quite old and close to the train station, had always had excellent security measures. Petty thefts were virtually unheard of there, so this incident had caused quite a stir. Not only had the Railway Bureau issued a statement, but his brother-in-law, who was a railway policeman, had also put in a lot of effort to investigate. Although he was just a railway policeman, he was still part of the public security system and quickly combed through the thief dens around the train station, eventually catching the culprit. However, the thief seemed to have some mental issues, speaking incoherently, and nothing useful was extracted from him. They only managed to recover the stolen money and valuables.

The incident wasn’t particularly major, but it wasn’t minor either. What did it have to do with the current case of evil possession? Yao Shuping didn’t understand, but Wei Yang already had an answer in mind. Anomalies were often signs of the supernatural. The thief who had never appeared in the neighborhood before and the sudden onset of soul loss syndrome were undoubtedly connected. The important thing wasn’t what the thief had stolen, but what he had been trying to steal.

“I see,” Wei Yang said calmly. “Could you take us to Old Yao’s home to investigate? There doesn’t seem to be anything unusual in the hospital room, so we’ll need to check the scene of the incident.”

This request was beyond Yao Shuping’s expectations. He looked to Uncle Qi for guidance, who nodded at him, “Take them there. I’ll stay here with Old Yao.”

With Uncle Qi’s assurance, Yao Shuping finally made up his mind. After calling his brother-in-law, he drove the two of them to the old house.

Sitting in the back seat of the car, Wei Yang leaned closer to the Little Celestial Master and asked in a low voice, “Brother Qi, is Old Yao’s soul loss definitely caused by a spell?”

The cause of soul loss syndrome could be either accidental or deliberate, but suddenly losing one’s soul in the middle of the night while sleeping didn’t seem like an accident.

As expected, Zhang Xiuqi nodded.

“What about Old Yao’s soul? Has it been dispersed yet?” Before coming, Wei Yang had learned a bit about the principles of soul loss syndrome. When a soul leaves the body, it usually attaches itself to some inanimate or living object to avoid the influence of the sun’s yang energy. However, if the object it attaches to lacks spiritual energy, the soul can easily dissipate, and the host will die. Souls forcibly extracted by spells are different. If they aren’t dispersed immediately, they are most likely captured by the caster. The situation they were facing now was likely an evil spell used to capture souls.

“Not dispersed,” Zhang Xiuqi replied bluntly. Earlier in the hospital, he had used limonite to seal the soul, taking advantage of its ability to block yang energy to prevent the already lost soul from interacting with the outside world, thereby stabilizing it. If the soul had already dispersed, this method would have been completely ineffective.

However, after a moment of thought, the Little Celestial Master added, “It hasn’t been captured either.”

Souls captured by others are usually damaged in some way. Those who lose their souls don’t just fall into a stupor but would instead fall into a coma. Old Yao’s condition was far too normal for that.

“What?” This was somewhat unexpected for Wei Yang. If this was a deliberate act, why hadn’t the soul been captured?

But he quickly regained his composure. If Zhang Xiuqi said so, there must be a reason. Rather than being surprised now, it would be better to assess the situation more closely once they arrived at the Yao family’s home. After whispering a few more words to Zhang Xiuqi, the car arrived at its destination.

Years ago, due to urban development, a number of decent houses had been built near the provincial train station, and naturally, the Railway Bureau had taken over most of them. Over a decade later, the once impressive low-rise buildings had lost their former glory, and the surrounding area had become cluttered with high-rise structures. However, the Railway Bureau’s residential area still maintained a relatively clean and quiet environment, and few troublemakers would dare to target the railway officials.

Old Yao’s home was in Building 6 on the west side of the complex, a building that faced a backstreet. The neighborhood was well-maintained, with tall walls providing security. In terms of safety, it was quite reliable. The house was only occupied by the elderly couple, and now that both were ill, the place was empty. Letting the two of them in, Yao Shuping said somewhat awkwardly, “This is the old house. My parents live here alone. My sister and I have already moved out. We have another place in the new district, but the old folks found it too troublesome to move there.”

The house indeed had a lived-in feel. Wei Yang glanced around and first asked, “Which room was ransacked the most?”

“The study,” Yao Shuping scratched his head. “Actually, my brother-in-law also mentioned that this was a bit strange. Thieves usually focus on the bedroom or living room, but this one turned the study upside down.”

Wei Yang gave a soft “Hmm” and then asked, “Doesn’t Old Yao like to collect antiques? Could it be that someone heard about this and targeted the study specifically?”

“We considered that, but nothing was stolen from the collection. Instead, some handbags from the living room and gold jewelry from the bedroom were taken,” Yao Shuping answered truthfully. “Oh, and some of the items that are sensitive to moisture were moved to the new house. Thank goodness my father was still conscious then, so the thief didn’t get to them.”

Wei Yang now had a clearer picture. It seemed the thief had been looking for something specific but failed to find it, so they took the money and jewelry as a cover. He wondered how the thief had been controlled. After gathering some basic information, Wei Yang whispered to Zhang Xiuqi, who was standing beside him, “Brother Qi, is there anything unusual in the house?”

Zhang Xiuqi glanced around the room and then walked straight to the bedroom. Since an ambulance had been called the previous night, the bedroom was in complete disarray, making it almost impossible to step inside. The room also carried the distinct odor of an elderly person, but Zhang Xiuqi paid no attention to any of this. He went directly to the bedside table, moved aside the lamp, and looked at the surface of the table. There were three diagonal lines carved into it, as if made by a knife, and when he touched them lightly, he felt some powder in the grooves.

He put the lamp back and then examined the layout of the room before heading to the balcony. Pushing open the balcony window, he saw the backstreet below. It was a narrow alley with no buildings in sight, and the road surface was pitted and uneven from years of disrepair. Despite the alley’s unremarkable appearance, Zhang Xiuqi’s expression changed the moment he saw it. He placed his hand on the windowsill and seemed about to jump down, but Wei Yang immediately grabbed his arm, “Brother Qi, what’s wrong? This is the fourth floor!”

Although he knew Zhang Xiuqi was skilled, Wei Yang couldn’t let him jump from such a height. Zhang Xiuqi’s arm twitched as if he wanted to shake off Wei Yang’s grip, but he ultimately didn’t. Instead, he grabbed Wei Yang’s hand and ran downstairs.

This startled Yao Shuping, who chased after them, asking, “Xiao Wei, what’s going on?”

Wei Yang didn’t have time to explain. The person beside him was running like the wind, with a sense of urgency that came from deep within. There were very few things that could make the Little Celestial Master anxious, and Wei Yang’s heart sank. Without a word, he followed Zhang Xiuqi, taking the stairs two at a time and rushing out the back door of the complex. They ran all the way to the entrance of the alley before Zhang Xiuqi finally stopped.

His brow furrowed tightly as he looked at the wall at the entrance of the alley. There was a faint pattern there that most people would dismiss as graffiti, but he knew it was a Dragon Summoning Talisman from the Sanliao Village—one of the most commonly used talismans by that person.

Unconsciously releasing Wei Yang’s hand, Zhang Xiuqi walked over to the wall and lightly touched the talisman with his fingertip, murmuring a single word.

“Uncle.”