Young Master Liu, whose inspection just moments ago had been exceptionally thorough, replied without needing to look again, "It's neither deep nor light, but I noticed a characteristic: the closer the black mark is to the center, the darker the color becomes."

"Hmm!" Upon hearing this, Granny Fan paused, her face, creased like old bark, finally relaxed. She murmured to herself, "Fortunately, we found it early. The malevolent energy has just entered the body and hasn't reached the heart or lungs. If it had been any later, it would have been serious trouble."

"Granny, what exactly is this mark? I didn't notice anything like this when I was taking care of Guoqiang and the others earlier? Did it just appear?" Young Master Liu asked, grabbing a towel from the rack near the head of the bed to wipe the sticky sweat from the faces of the three unconscious children.

Faced with Young Master Liu’s rapid-fire questions, Granny Fan, who already had a limited educational background, couldn't answer immediately. She had to turn her mind, recalling the oral histories passed down by her predecessors, before she slowly began to explain, "We Yin-Yang Masters usually call this kind of mark a 'Soul Stain' ()."

"Soul Stain?" Young Master Liu had never heard this term and was instantly baffled. Village Chief Tian, who had been pacing aimlessly nearby, seemed to pay no mind to Granny Fan’s conversation, but his ears were pricked high; it was clear he too was perplexed by this strange phenomenon occurring on his own children.

"Yes. The old Daoist priest in the village used to be an under-official coroner during the late Qing Dynasty. Back then, people died in the yamen prison every day—starvation, beatings, suicide—it was constant. Coupled with the already terrible environment—always pitch dark, with stagnant air—it caused the yin energy to gather and refuse to dissipate, leading to continuous strange occurrences. For example, single cells that were supposed to be empty would echo with shouts and wails at night. Execution tools left on benches would inexplicably fly into the air, only to smash onto the ground with a clatter. The old Daoist priest learned some folk Daoist arts from another expert at the yamen during that time, and after resigning, he returned to his hometown, living out his days in our village. According to him, after a person dies, because the heart stops beating and the blood and qi sink and settle into the flesh, within ten minutes to a few hours, large patches of lividity—or 'Mortal Stain' ()—appear on the skin. But simultaneously, something recorded by the coroners besides the well-known 'Mortal Stain' was the 'Evil Path' ()—the Soul Stain. The Mortal Stain is caused by blood coagulation, but the Soul Stain, as the name implies, is caused by various accidents resulting in the human soul prematurely departing the body, allowing yin energy to rush in and gather in the body's vital points, unable to disperse."

"Ordinarily, judging the severity of this Soul Stain involves assessing the color—that's why I asked you to check the coloration on their foreheads earlier. The deeper the color, the worse the situation, and the greater the difficulty in saving them. A light color suggests they were merely bewitched by mountain spirits, having lost only one hun and one po (soul components); they can be called back with a simple soul-calling ritual. A deep color indicates the soul is lost; even the Great Overarching True Immortal () would struggle to save them. But when the colors overlap—deep and light mixed—it means they have lost three hun and two po (three souls and two spirits), retaining only a single po. Though they seem alive, with breath and a pulse, if their three lost souls and two spirits aren't retrieved personally by a Daoist descending to the Underworld () within the stipulated time frame, the person is beyond saving."

"Why beyond saving?" asked Young Master Liu.

"Hmph, didn't you just see it?" Granny Fan gave a wry smile. "In their current state, even if we could keep them stable, taking them to the hospital would be useless. The best outcome would be a vegetative state."

"A vegetative state? What is a vegetative state?"

"This..." Granny Fan didn't actually know what this rather trendy term meant. She only knew that the educated teachers in the town described someone who couldn't move or speak as being in a 'vegetative state.' Just as she was searching for the right phrasing to explain this to Young Master Liu, Village Chief Tian interjected, "Hey, my little nephew, you've read books and studied medicine, haven't you? A vegetative state means the person has turned into a plant—that’s what a vegetative person is."

"A person turning into a plant?" Young Master Liu's eyes widened.

"Exactly! I heard that people in a vegetative state look just like big cabbages, their hands and feet turning into vegetable leaves." Village Chief Tian, though ignorant, wanted to show off his education in front of Granny Fan. He pointed a finger at Young Master Liu’s head and spoke with exasperation, "If someone turns into a cabbage leaf, won't Qiangzi turn into a cabbage too?" Young Master Liu was aghast. Dogdan’s father and Little Mazhi’s mother covered their mouths in shock. If their sons turned into vegetables, how would they manage the household? Ah, the simplicity of the people’s thinking in that era. Decades later, every time Young Master Liu recalled this scene, he would double over with laughter.

"Young Master Liu, don't listen to his nonsense. I’ve lived this long and never seen a person turn into a cabbage!" Granny Fan scoffed.

"What do you mean? Why can't a person turn into a cabbage? Then tell me what a vegetative person means! Tell me!" Hearing the clear mockery in Granny Fan’s tone, Village Chief Tian grew anxious.

Granny Fan merely gave him a disdainful look, raised an eyebrow, and turned to Young Master Liu, "Please trouble yourself again. Put your ear close to their chests, listen to each of their heartbeats, and see if they sound deep and slow, and if the rate is less than half that of a normal person per minute."

"Less than half of a normal person?" Hearing this, Young Master Liu’s thick eyebrows almost knitted together in disbelief. "Granny Fan, are you joking? The heart is the root of human life. Even if a person is terminally ill, on the verge of death, their heartbeat shouldn't be less than half the normal rate! Unless Qiangzi and the others have already..." At this point, Young Master Liu quickly clamped his tongue shut, not continuing the thought.

"I understand what you mean, but I need you to verify it," Granny Fan insisted.

"Fan Xidou! Things have come to this, and you're still stubbornly leading people astray and confusing them! Do you know what you are doing? You are pushing three successors, who are about to contribute to the Party's glorious future, into a pit of fire! Moreover, you are repeatedly instigating children and encouraging them to spread feudal superstition for you, placing them in opposition to socialism. Bah! Believe it or not, just one of these actions—any one—I could report to the organization and have you overthrown!" Village Chief Tian declared righteously. In that moment, his fierce spirit burned as brightly as if he were Li Dazhao railing against the Kuomintang, or young Liu Hulan heading to the execution ground.

"Village Chief Tian, you don't understand! This time, this old woman is not harming you all; I genuinely intend to save you! Now, none of us have a way back. For the sake of these three children's lives, I must risk my own old bones and gamble with the King of Hell!" With that, Granny Fan's expression grew resolute. Ignoring the flailing Village Chief Tian, she turned her head, waved her hand, and signaled Young Master Liu. After a moment of consideration, Liu decided to temporarily ignore the Village Chief and complete the task Granny Fan had assigned. He walked to the cabinet, picked up his pocket watch, and measured the heart rates of the three boys. Young Master Liu had approached the task casually at first, but within three seconds of placing his ear against Tian Guoqiang's chest, his doubtful expression completely morphed into one of shock, suddenness, and disbelief.

Thump————Thump----thump--The heartbeat was indeed incredibly deep and heavy, like a sack filled with sand being dropped from a height. And the heart rate matched Granny Fan's description exactly. Young Master Liu’s own heart beat over seventy times a minute, but Tian Guoqiang's heart was beating only about twenty times a minute. Young Master Liu momentarily thought he had miscounted, but after checking several times, he reluctantly accepted the reality. At this moment, he truly felt that Granny Fan might possess some kind of precognitive supernatural ability.

"How... how is this possible?" The pocket watch slipped from his hand with a clatter; Young Master Liu was left speechless.

"Young Master Liu, Young Master Liu?" Granny Fan called out several times before rousing the stunned young man.

"Oh... oh..." Young Master Liu collected himself immediately, nodding repeatedly. "It is exactly as Granny said. The heartbeat is very deep, and the rate... it's less than thirty beats per minute."

Liu’s confirmation was within Granny Fan's expectations, but hearing it, she still let out a sigh of pity and compassion: "Alas, they have indeed lost three souls and two spirits."

"Granny Fan, what do we do now?" Young Master Liu had listened intently to Granny Fan’s detailed explanation of the Soul Stain. Losing three souls and two spirits—what was left? Just living dead? He had grown up considering Tian Guoqiang and the others as sworn brothers, as close as family. He naturally didn't want them to turn into cabbages or living corpses. He quickly knelt down, clutching the leg of Granny Fan’s trousers, and pleaded with a choked voice, "No matter what, you must save Guoqiang and the other two! We will serve you like oxen and horses for the rest of our lives."

"Sigh!" Granny Fan, having undergone the previous massage and meditation, and having replenished fluids, now showed some color returning to her loose skin, the blackness on her face slowly receding to reveal its original sallow tone. Her hands and feet could move stiffly; she managed to pick up a cup and drink water, though the movement was clearly forced and required effort. "The one who tied the bell must be the one to untie it!" She shook her head. "The Temple of the Five Manifested Officials () was once a blessed place for our two villages; it ensured favorable weather, and most prayers were answered. But in recent years, the custom of village worship faded, and few people visited the temple. As a result, it fell into disrepair for years and was eventually destroyed by lightning. Furthermore, this place developed an innate strange phenomenon, causing malevolent energy () to surge drastically, turning the temple into a dwelling place for demons, ghosts, chimei wangliang (monsters and goblins). The village had long issued warnings, but you still ran there at midnight to play. Trouble has finally found you!"