Chapter 61: What is an Obsession?
Seeing Master Sun's ghost about to vanish, Wang Feiyin grabbed Pan Jun to give chase, but after only two steps, he was pulled back by someone. "Are you the Taoist on duty tonight? Where are you going?"
Wang Feiyin paused before saying, "I'm going to the latrine."
The other person looked at him with suspicion. "The latrine is in the back. It is already night; you must remain in the memorial hall. Did the manager not make that clear to you? Look at that Master over there; he has been sitting still the whole time."
Wang Feiyin looked over and met the gaze of that bald donkey, Huiyuan. The two of them stared at each other silently for a moment, then simultaneously looked away.
Wang Feiyin hesitated between money and karma, but ultimately withdrew his hand from Pan Jun. He lowered his head and said to her kindly, "Fifth Junior Sister, go by yourself. I must stay on duty here."
He squeezed out a voice through his teeth: "Go quickly. We are the ones who let the wandering soul out; we have to ensure he doesn't cause trouble, otherwise, the karma will fall on us."
Pan Jun gave an affirmative response and bolted outside.
What was the fun in guarding a memorial hall? Chasing Master Sun was much more interesting.
Master Sun was currently strolling through his own banquet.
At this hour, most of the guests had dispersed. Those still sitting at the tables were family members, relatives helping with the funeral arrangements, and assisting villagers.
The food was actually quite good—all fresh dishes, unlike most funerals where the food is mostly leftovers.
Consequently, the helping relatives and villagers were all giving high praise, complimenting the filial sons and grandsons of the Sun family.
"Young Master Sun and Master Sun are both such generous and kind-hearted people."
"Indeed, indeed."
Master Sun listened with continuous cold sneers, though his expression did soften significantly.
Even Pan Jun was surprised; she could actually discern facial expressions from a ghost.
Passing through these banquet tables, Master Sun headed toward the rear quarters; he wanted to find his head steward.
As it turned out, several tables were also set up in the rear quarters, and the household servants were also eating.
However, their tables were mostly filled with scraps and leftovers. At a glance, it was nothing but various vegetables and bits of bone and minced meat.
The Sun family servants were very dissatisfied, picking through the broken bones with expressions of disgust. "This is all leftovers."
A person from the kitchen replied, "It's good enough to have something to eat. We are just servants; if we don't eat the leftovers, what else can we eat?"
"Nonsense! Even if it's leftovers, it shouldn't be the kind scraped off the table. If guests don't finish their dishes and they are sent back to the kitchen for us, we have no complaints. But this is just stuff swept off the tables. No one has ever treated us with such disrespect."
"Exactly. Where are the actual leftovers? The banquet tables up front were all good food."
"Don't ask me. If you have the guts, go ask the Eldest Mistress. Those leftovers are all collected in buckets. Do you think the food served at the tables out on the road is good? More people will come tomorrow; you're lucky you even have these scraps to eat now, or you might not even have this much tomorrow."
Hearing this, the servants felt both angry and disappointed. "We all came to mourn the Master. In the past, whether our family held a wedding or a funeral, those who came were treated as honored guests. There is no logic in feeding guests leftovers."
"They're just a bunch of country bumpkins and wandering refugees begging for food. It's good enough to have anything at all."
"That's not how you put it. When the Master was still alive..."
"The Eldest Young Master is in charge now!"
That single sentence shut everyone up.
Master Sun was jumping around to the side, cursing his sons toward the direction of the memorial hall. He focused particularly on his eldest son; eight out of every ten curses were directed at him.
Pan Jun was listening with great interest. Once Master Sun finished cursing, he immediately noticed her.
Some of the arguing servants also noticed her, and someone immediately stepped forward to ask, "Where did this child come from? Go on, go on, don't run around aimlessly."
One servant saw her wearing a Taoist robe and pulled back his companion who was about to drive her away. "She's a Taoist here to perform a ritual. She must have come with her master. Just show her the way."
The man pointed toward the memorial hall and said, "Go toward where the wailing is and where the lights are brightest. You're staying in the side room there; don't wander around in the middle of the night."
Pan Jun acknowledged him, walked back a few steps, and then hid in the shadows without moving. She looked up at Master Sun, who was staring at her, and gave him a slight smile.
Master Sun's eyes bulged instantly, and his soul nearly fled his body from fright.
It truly did flee. In his terror, his entire ghostly form tumbled backward, hitting the wall with a *thud* and slowly sinking into it. He shrieked continuously, "A ghost—!"
It took a long time for the screaming Master Sun to pull himself out of the wall, looking toward Pan Jun's location in a state of shock.
Pan Jun was still standing there, hidden in the shadows. As long as one didn't approach closely, no one could notice a person was there.
Except for a ghost.
Master Sun approached with trembling lips, his voice shaking. "You... you... are you like me?"
Pan Jun smiled slightly and lowered her voice. "No, Master Sun. I am a human."
Master Sun: "A human? How could a human see..."
Pan Jun: "I am a Taoist."
Master Sun retreated repeatedly, looking at her warily. "You demon Taoist! You want to catch me? Can you even catch me? This is my house!"
Pan Jun: "...Master Sun, the Spirit-Suppressing Talismans in the memorial hall were broken by me and my Senior Brother."
Master Sun's expression immediately turned kind. He took two steps forward and said in a gentle tone, "So it was a Taoist who did it. No wonder I could leave so smoothly. Thank you, little Taoist."
Pan Jun smiled at him and turned to leave.
Master Sun hesitated, glanced back, and seeing that the head steward was not among the servants, he hurriedly followed Pan Jun.
Pan Jun led Master Sun to a secluded spot and asked, "If Master Sun has any final wishes, feel free to tell me. If I can help, I certainly will."
Master Sun was puzzled. "Why would you help me?"
Pan Jun: "We take people's money to dispel their calamities. Our Sanqing Temple took your family's money for the funeral procession, so naturally, we must see you off."
Upon hearing this, Master Sun sneered repeatedly. "The money you took wasn't mine."
Pan Jun: "Is there any money in this house that doesn't belong to Master Sun?"
Master Sun was instantly delighted. "You are right! All the money in this house is mine. Those unfilial sons thought they could use my money to suppress me. Hmph!"
He immediately began lamenting to Pan Jun, "It's not that I don't want to leave, but those unfilial sons of mine used Spirit-Suppressing Talismans to pin me down. Even if I wanted to leave, I couldn't."
Pan Jun shook her head. "That's not right. Spirit-Suppressing Talismans can only keep you in the memorial hall to prevent you from wandering about; they cannot stop you from going to the underworld for reincarnation. Since the talismans were not placed on the coffin, it is clear your descendants still hope for your rebirth.
The reason you haven't left, Master Sun, is because you still have an obsession."
Master Sun looked bewildered. "I have an obsession?"
Pan Jun nodded. "You have an obsession."
Master Sun murmured, "What obsession could I have? Could it be that I want to kill those unfilial sons of mine? Am I... am I that vicious?"