Chapter 30: A Woman’s Own Special Arts

Previous Chapter ∇ Table of Content ∇ Next Chapter

Chapter 30: A Woman’s Own Special Arts

Descriptions of women using occult techniques are often associated with Miao women. There are certainly plenty of legends about Miao women being deeply passionate, and about love gu and twin gu. But Miao women aren’t the only ones in this world who have such methods.

“Metaphysical techniques have had a rather special way of being passed down since ancient times, either from mother to daughter or from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law.” As he spoke, Chen Yuan carried the small bag over to the cabinet, opened a drawer, and put the bag inside. He then took out some other things and placed them on the table.

“This is a tradition passed down exclusively among women, known as ‘women’s arts.’ Generally speaking, because of the special circumstances of ancient times, women’s arts were aimed at things like protecting marriages, blessing children, and strengthening the bond between husband and wife.” Chen Yuan gestured for Huo Shu to look at the things he had laid out. There were several pieces of cloth, red string, a pair of scissors, a pen, and a stone with its bottom flattened.

Huo Shu became curious when Chen Yuan mentioned women’s arts. Were the things Chen Yuan had just laid out the tools for this so-called women’s arts?

“Actually, many of the methods used in women’s arts aren’t as mysterious as ordinary metaphysical techniques.” Chen Yuan pointed to the things on the table. “You’ve probably heard how, in places like the ancient imperial palace, if someone wanted to curse another person, they would make a curse doll, write down the person’s Bazi, and stick silver needles into it, right?

“Actually, in the beginning, this kind of technique was something women used to protect their marriages by targeting other women. It simply changed after it spread. And simply sticking silver needles into some kind of doll won’t have any effect if the practitioner doesn’t have a strong enough intention, or mental force. There are many subtle techniques involved.”

“And when it comes to these kinds of problems, women’s arts are actually the most effective, even compared with ordinary metaphysical techniques.” Chen Yuan picked up the pen and handed it to Huo Shu. “Come on, draw a simple human figure on the cloth.”

Holding the pen, Huo Shu was at a loss. “I… I’m not trying to do anything to him.” After hearing Chen Yuan’s story about the curse doll, she had assumed that he wanted her to make one. She really hated Rong Yan, but actually doing something like that would be going too far, wouldn’t it?

Hearing what Huo Shu said, Chen Yuan laughed. “Do I have any silver needles here?”

“No.” Huo Shu answered instinctively.

“Then do you think we’re making a curse doll?”

“Ah… Then what are we doing?” Her face flushed with embarrassment at her misunderstanding.

Chen Yuan didn’t mind being misunderstood. He sat down and answered, “Of course we’re severing the bond between the two of you.”

Although women’s arts were supposed to be passed down from mother to daughter or mother-in-law to daughter-in-law, Chen Yuan was a man and shouldn’t have known about them in the first place. But times had changed, and many things had been passed on.

Although outsiders still couldn’t learn the most fundamental aspects of women’s arts, some simpler techniques had begun to circulate. Chen Yuan knew about them, but he had never expected to actually have the chance to teach someone else how to use them.

“Huh?” Huo Shu looked at Chen Yuan’s expression, then at the piece of cloth, and was completely bewildered. Could it really be that simple?

“Go ahead and draw it. Rong Yan can’t keep pestering you like this,” Yu Shenliu said from the side. “It won’t cause any problems either. Wouldn’t it be better to get rid of his harassment sooner?”

Huo Shu really didn’t want to keep dealing with Rong Yan. Chen Yuan wasn’t the kind of person who would hurt others, and her uncle was saying the same thing, so she casually drew a simple human figure on the piece of cloth.

She looked up and asked Chen Yuan, “What next?”

Chen Yuan handed Huo Shu the scissors and said, “Cut out the figure. In your mind, think of it as Rong Yan’s substitute.”

When performing women’s arts, the person involved or a woman closely connected to them had to do it, otherwise it wouldn’t have the intended effect. Women were yin by nature, and they also tended to have stronger spiritual sensitivity when it came to metaphysics.

Huo Shu followed his instructions and cut out the human figure, then looked at Chen Yuan again.

“Write Rong Yan’s name on it. Then wrap the red string around it three times clockwise, followed by three times counterclockwise, and then untie the string.”

After Huo Shu did as he instructed, Chen Yuan explained, “Basically, this creates a human figure representing Rong Yan. Wrapping the red string around it represents the three lives before and the three lives after. The red string itself should actually be a red thread, symbolizing marriage, but I don’t have one, so I’ll have to use red string instead.”

In authentic metaphysical techniques, every step usually has its own symbolism. As for the many charlatans out there, they use all kinds of strange, inexplicable things to fool people. In fact, it isn’t difficult to tell the difference.

After Huo Shu finished, she waited for Chen Yuan to explain what came next, only to hear him say, “Put the figure on the ground, step on it, then place the stone on top.”

This practice had been passed down from ancient times. Originally, it reflected the idea that men were superior to women and that a woman should regard a man as her heaven. Now, stepping on the other person represented no longer caring about him.

Once Huo Shu had placed the stone on top, Chen Yuan motioned for her to pick up the red string and scissors, then said, “Repeat after me: ‘The bond between you and me, like this red string, has lasted through three lives before and three lives after. Today, it ends completely. From heaven to earth, we shall never meet again.’”

“The bond between you and me, like this red string, has lasted through three lives before and three lives after. Today, it ends completely. From heaven to earth, we shall never meet again.”

Feeling that what she was doing was rather strange, Huo Shu recited the words softly, somewhat embarrassed, then followed Chen Yuan’s finger and cut the red string.

After watching for a long while, Yu Shenliu had to admit that everything Chen Yuan had done looked rather like some kind of shamanistic ritual. If they hadn’t known what Chen Yuan was capable of, they might have thought he was just a charlatan.

The key was that, compared with things like fortune-telling, whose results could be verified fairly quickly, this kind of technique seemed far less reliable.

So he asked, “Does this really work?”

“We’ll know when we wait and see.” Chen Yuan seemed quite relaxed as he put away the things he had used. “Just like how placing an old wooden pulley in a house is said to ensure harmony between husband and wife, whether it actually works or not, we’ll only know by seeing what happens afterward, right?”

Although he really wanted to see what kind of result this technique would produce right away, as Chen Yuan had said, they wouldn’t get an answer without waiting. So Yu Shenliu could only resign himself to it.

Just then, a voice came from outside the shop. “Masterrrrrr, are you hereeee?”

Huo Shu watched as Yu Shenliu’s expression slowly darkened, while Chen Yuan went outside and then returned with a young man.

The young man entered the shop and nodded at Yu Shenliu and Huo Shu in greeting before launching into a rapid-fire stream of words at Chen Yuan.

“Master, I came looking for you a few days ago too, but you weren’t here. Actually, my mom said she wanted to treat you to a meal to thank you. I was thinking we could go to Wangjiang Tower.

“A few days ago, I heard that a Mr. Wang invited a group of children from an orphanage to dinner there. What a grand gesture! Mom said that doing good deeds like this makes someone a good person, and good people will be rewarded.

“But I think the boss brought a whole bunch of reporters along, so it felt more like a publicity stunt. Still, he did do a good deed, so there’s nothing much to say about it. Uh… Master, why wait for another day when today will do? How about we go today?”

Chen Yuan listened to the young man’s long speech with a smile, but noticed one particular detail. Could he be talking about Boss Wang?

Boss Wang really had gone to do a good deed. Still, taking a group of children out for a meal was nowhere near as useful as giving them money for their education or something like that. Chen Yuan wondered what Boss Wang had been thinking.

Besides, no matter how he looked at it, Boss Wang seemed like the kind of person who would still cause trouble even if Chen Yuan explained everything to him clearly.

Listening to the young man, Yu Shenliu raised an eyebrow suspiciously. What were the odds of something being this coincidental? They had just been thinking that Boss Wang should have nothing to do with them, and now they were hearing the young man talk about him here. Could there be something wrong with this?

Chen Yuan turned down the young man’s offer. “There’s no need to treat me to a meal. Give me my fee, and I’ll tell you the truth. That’s fair. If you treat me to a meal instead, I’ll owe you one.”

Yu Shenliu’s expression relaxed slightly.

“However, we can still have a meal together.”

Yu Shenliu silently gritted his teeth.

Previous Chapter ∇ Table of Content ∇ Next Chapter