Wudang: Legends Of Qi Earth 122 Birthday Banquet II : Ghosts and Rituals

The first thing Alex felt the moment he stepped into the mortuary was the chill, the cold was unlike anything he had ever felt, and this was not because cold was required to preserve a dead body, but rather because of energy that hung around this place. Yin, negative, evil, death, whatever choice of words you might have for such an energy, Alex could feel it, and it was the most uncomfortable and unsettling feeling he has ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Alex shook his head as he properly registered what it was he was seeing, Specters of human beings floated allover the place.

However Alex was sure of one thing, he wasn't seeing these guys with his normal sight, if Louis or any of the others were here, Alex doubted they would have been able to see exactly what he was seeing, maybe Louis might have a chance due to his Yin cultivation roots, but apart from that, the sight in front of him went far beyond the material world, this theme was well and fully supernatural. Alex didn't want to call them ghosts, even though that's exactly what they were, just like the remnant he came here for, these was what would be left behind should a person die with grievances, or at least that's what Alex believed, he had no idea how ghosts were born or made.

There were men, women and children of all age and sizes, they floated around the hallway in front of Alex with blank looks on their faces, they were pale and their eyes bloodshot and soulless. Alex noticed that some of the ghosts seemed to be fading, they looked incorporeal, but the edges of their forms were almost invisible of outright missing. Each of the ghosts had some sort of defining feature, either a broken neck, a cut on the stomach, broken backs etc., basically it was a show of what exactly would responsible for their deaths. Alex took a step forward, and the moment he did so, the attention of every ghost in that hallway was drawn to his form.

Alex froze, the chill seemed to have increased even more as the ghosts began to let out wailing sounds as they floated towards Alex, he took a step back but that didn't stop them as they drew closer. It was a haunting sight and Alex felt his heart pounding in his chest, for some reason he was completely petrified as they drew closer, incapable of moving or doing anything other than watching as the ghosts drew closer and closer, until the first ghost touched him.

She was a teenager of about fifteen years old, there was a knife stuck in her chest or to be more precise a dagger with the symbol of the imperial family.

The clothes she had on was reminiscent of those that are worn by maids of the palace, though it looked like an older version, like something someone would wear a hundred or two hundred years ago. The moment she touched him, Alex froze, the energies in his body seemed to also freeze along with him as she pulled something out of him, Alex wasn't so sure what, but he felt weaker, lighter, and the third in turned looked brighter and more full of life. Her eyes began to glow a deep and soulful blue, she stretched out her hand to touch Alex again.

[If you don't move you ass, every ghost in this mortuary will snack on your bloody soul! Move it Alex!]

Alex got the feeling that Nezha had been trying to contact him from the moment he stepped into this mortuary, however Alex had been enthralled by the weird feelings and sights the moment he had stepped into this part of the building. Alex didn't waste time as he rushed forwards, but not before the ghost girl placed a hand on his head and pulled out another sliver of his soul.

Alex felt sick, like he would disgorge everything he had invested today, but he was able to fight the feeling and move forwards, evading the other ghosts and he quickly located the room where dead bodies were kept, he closed the door behind him and quick hunched over to catch his breath, his heart was beating too fast.

[They're ghosts Alex, doors won't stop them. Use this!....]

Nezha sent Alex an image into Alex's head, before coming here Nezha had told Alex to prepare some materials for the ritual that would get him the memories of the remnants and a way to properly end it. Alex looked around the mortuary, ignoring the dead bodies lying down on various tables one of which was surprisingly the person he was here for as the remnant was still tethered to his body. Alex located a basin with water in it, he quickly shoved his hand into his suit we pulled out several packets of salt and then opened on into the basin of water. There was a ruler of sorts on the table besides him, he used it to stir the water as he moved the basin back towards the door, where he proceeded to draw a symbol of a pentagram with a cross on it.

Alex moved back from the door as watched as it glowed a golden white light and small barrier seemed to spread around the entire room, preventing any ghost like spirits from coming in or going out. According to Nezha this was a ritual that could be used against ghosts and against the demons and devil's,  all you had to do was invert the cross and you would be able to create a barrier or a safe zone to stop such creatures from entering a place or trapping them. Alex wouldn't ask how Nezha knew about such a ritual, he had bigger fish to fry.

Listening to instructions from Nezha, he took the remaining packets of salt, ignoring other ghosts in the room until he got rid the remnant. He spread the salt in a circle around the body, making sure to infuse as much of his spirit energy into the salt as he made the salt circle. Salt was a purifying life agent, it could trap, seal, bound, and contain which were all variations of the same thing, but Nezha had a way with words. It was also possible to use salt in exorcisms but more often than not extensive preparations was needed.

Alex lit his right finger on fire, a pale green flame lit up the dim room, then Alex bent down and placed his hand on the salt circle, almost immediately the entire salt circle lit up, going from a pale green to a deep black in seconds. Alex watched in fascination as the remnant began to shake and move, struggling to get away from the body it was still tethered to and away from the circle of black flames, but it was tightly bound, meaning there was no way it could escape. It released subdued pitched whines that were similar to the whines of a new born pup, but even then Alex didn't move from his position as he watched in fascination.

He watched on in fascination as the remnant began to burn, it's grey shadowy form began to turn into flecks of blackish red embers that floated over the dead body, turning into a small cloud of seemingly burning dust. It formed a small cyclone that was somehow still tethered to the dead body, but that didn't last for long as it slowly floated upwards, but still within the confines of the burning salt circle.

Then Alex heard the final instructions from Nezha, he quickly moved to the north side of the body and the circle which was of course it's head, then he used his feet to smudge on side of the circle, creating and opening and immediately the flames went out.

As soon as that happened, the cyclone of burning black dust billowed out in fury, rushing out of the break in the circle and straight into Alex's body. The impact was yeah enough to raise Alex off his feet and slam him against the wall, the walls themselves glowing good as the barrier recognized Alex as having a spirit in his body and preventing him from breaking through. Alex's nostrils were filled with scent of incense and Ash, there was also a scent of burning leather as a weird tater was left behind in his mouth. If he was asked, the only thing he would have said was that it tasted like death. Alex took a deep breath as he got back up to his feet, the effects he felt leaving his body just as quickly as they had been felt.

"Young master Alex! Hurry up! Your sister and your fiancée are right outside the doors with a bunch of disciples from the Emei sect, we're stalling them, but you need to get here right now!" Yun Fao's loud whispers was heard from the ear piece.

Alex looked around a bit confused as he tried to understand something, his eyes widening in the process too. He looked around as he made his way out of the mortuary, the barrier breaking on it's own and the evidence of his tiny ritual left behind him. He evaded the ghosts as he hurried back, then he spoke to the others still listening.

"Keep them stalled for now, I'll be back in ten minutes. Also guys...…I got what I came for, I know who's responsible for the deaths of everyone in Macau, and I know why."

Chapter end