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At that moment, Shawn Young, Mai Kanda, Minnie Wang, and Helen stepped off the "Starlight Princess" cruise ship together. Since Minnie Wang's fiery red Ferrari had already been totaled, the four of them had no choice but to walk out of the pier. They intended to hail a cab heading southeast, but just as they stepped outside, a black Mercedes 5 pulled up in front of them. The male driver got out, respectfully addressing Shawn, "Mr. Young, the master asked me to wait here for you! Please, get in!"
"Oh! Great—" Shawn thought Samuel Morin was quite considerate, so he didn't stand on ceremony. He led the three ladies into the black Mercedes 5, and the driver returned to his seat and started the engine. The car quickly left the pier, heading southeast along the road.
After driving southeast for nearly half an hour, they reached the outskirts of Nanming City, a field full of vegetable patches and woods. Soon, a convoy of dozens of black Mercedes 5s appeared ahead, parked at a fork in the road. The area was lined with dense trees, and burly men in black, wearing sunglasses and concealing weapons at their waists, formed a tight security perimeter around the fork. The car stopped at the bend, the window rolled down, and a tough-looking man who seemed to be the leader approached, glanced inside, saw Shawn Young, and nodded to the driver, signaling they could pass. The car started up again, slowly turning into the fork.
After entering the fork, the road turned to country dirt. The car followed the muddy path, and soon they saw a tall banyan tree standing majestically behind a small mound. Around the ancient tree were burned incense sticks and red cloth strips tied to its branches. Clearly, the villagers treated this old banyan as a guardian spirit tree. (Note: This is a common tradition in southern regions—wherever there's an ancient tree, locals often worship it as the area's protective deity.)
The car stopped by the dirt road near the mound. The driver got out and opened the door, and Shawn Young and the three women stepped out. The driver respectfully said to Shawn, "Mr. Young—the master is waiting for you over there!"
"Got it—" Shawn replied, then led the three women toward the banyan tree. Rounding the mound, they saw not only the towering, ancient banyan but also a patch of white all around its base. Looking closer, it was a huge pile of glutinous rice. Samuel Morin and Felix Eagleclaw were anxiously waiting by the rice pile, and on top of it lay a young man, unconscious and wearing only shorts. It was none other than Charles Morin!
"Ah—Little Brother Shawn, you’re finally here! We’ve been waiting for over three hours!" Felix Eagleclaw perked up instantly when he saw Shawn, striding over to greet him.
Samuel Morin also came over, looking anxious. "Little Brother Shawn, you’re here at last. I already put the bottle in Charlie’s mouth. He’s reacting, but still hasn’t woken up. Now we’re just waiting for you to bring his soul back!"
"Oh, sorry, I just finished some personal business and rushed over—just in time," Shawn said.
"Oh—just in time, uh—wait, isn’t this girl—she’s—who—Japanese ninja, right? How did she—" Felix Eagleclaw suddenly recognized Mai Kanda and exclaimed in surprise.
Shawn Young blushed and quickly explained, "Oh, Senior Felix, don’t get worked up. She’s Mai Kanda, and I’ve already recruited her. She’s on our side now, not an enemy, so you can relax!"
"Recruited? She—she’s yours now? That powerful? How did you manage that? As far as I know, Japanese ninjas almost never get recruited!" Felix Eagleclaw was stunned.
"Heh—of course it’s his unique male charm! Shawn is a master at this stuff. Any beautiful woman who crosses his path ends up recruited! Hmph—" Minnie Wang chimed in with a sour note.
"Unique male charm? What—what does that mean?!" Felix Eagleclaw stared, completely confused by the situation.
"Oh, sir, here’s the situation: I am now Shawn Young’s woman, and he’s my new master. I’ve left the Iga Shinobi Clan, and from now on, I’ll only follow Shawn Young’s orders!" Mai Kanda bowed and explained confidently.
"Huh? Not just Shawn’s woman, but he’s your new master? What’s going on here?" Even Samuel Morin was getting more confused.
"Sigh—let me explain. She’s Shawn’s new lover! Is that clear enough?!" Minnie Wang said with a dark look, clearly conflicted. She felt a bit wronged; she’d been enjoying a romantic world with Shawn, but a string of sudden events had totally messed up her plans. What annoyed her most was that Mai Kanda had gotten intimate with Shawn before she did! So she’d been holding a grudge against Mai Kanda, though she kept it in for Shawn’s sake.
"Oh—oh—I get it, totally get it—haha—Little Brother Shawn really is a ladies’ man!" Felix Eagleclaw wasn’t a fool. With Minnie’s explanation, he immediately understood and gave Shawn a meaningful smile.
"Ahem—ahem—let’s not talk about that now. Time’s short. I’ll bring Charlie’s soul back first!" Shawn Young, seeing the awkwardness, quickly changed the subject.
"Alright, let’s begin!" Samuel Morin, desperate to save his son, quickly changed the subject.
"Okay—now, everyone please leave the circle of glutinous rice so I can perform the soul-returning spell," Shawn Young said.
Everyone immediately stepped out of the glutinous rice circle, but Helen suddenly turned back, her curiosity piqued. She whispered to Shawn, "Mr. Young—why do we have to leave the circle? And what’s the point of all this glutinous rice?"
"Oh, according to our Chinese Taoist tradition—glutinous rice is a yang-gathering substance, so it wards off evil and keeps spirits safe. Laying Charlie’s body on a pile of glutinous rice keeps his soul from drifting away. And if any wandering ghosts show up, the rice’s yang energy blocks them from snatching his soul!" Shawn explained.
"Wow—that’s amazing! But do ghosts really exist in this world?" Helen asked, fascinated.
"Uh—well, yes, but most people can’t see them," Shawn continued.
"What? Seriously? Now I really want to know what ghosts look like—Mr. Young, can you actually summon one?" Helen was suddenly excited.
"Uh—I’m kind of in a hurry right now. Next time, I’ll summon a few for you to see!" Shawn replied, dodging the question.
"Alright! It’s a deal!" Helen said excitedly, then turned and walked out.
Shawn shrugged helplessly and walked over to Charlie. Charlie was still unconscious, eyes tightly shut, wearing only a pair of red shorts, with the white ceramic bottle still jammed in his mouth—a truly bizarre sight.
Shawn reached out his right hand and tapped the bottom of the bottle several times—"Pa—pa—pa—" The bottle was almost entirely stuffed into Charlie’s mouth, making his cheeks puff up comically.
Then Shawn began to channel the Celestial Essence within him, his consciousness diving into the Illusory Sea. He overlapped his hands, hooked his thumbs together, connected his pinkies, and formed the Soul-Returning Seal. He started chanting the Soul-Returning Incantation: "Vital energy and yang essence, crimson smoke rising, illuminating the world, merging with my body, the Mountain Spirit Incantation brings universal blessing, five spirits secure and calm, body ascends to immortality, five energies swirl, stars shine bright, radiance fills the void. Black spirit deity, flying in mysterious robes, guarding the five gates, pure essence flows, brilliance at the golden gate, clarity in the abyss. Within is the Sovereign Emperor Spirit, protector and guardian, defending my form, cutting off evil, the righteous path shines, palaces stand in order, three realms united. Dao follows nature, ascending to the purple court, the talisman’s command grants blessings to all, merit for everything, peace for heaven and earth, soul returns to its place—Moo an en mo yan—scatter!"
He opened his eyes and slowly raised his hands. A purple light shot out from his body, circling in the air, and instantly enveloped Charlie. Shawn’s hands kept forming different seals. "Bang!"—the white ceramic bottle suddenly exploded, releasing several ghostly lights. The purple light danced in the air, quickly gathering into a human shape—Charlie’s likeness!
Shawn knew that was Charlie’s soul and spirit returning to his body. He shouted, channeling the Celestial Essence to its peak, clasped his palms, and sent another purple light shooting out. Charlie’s soul and spirit floated down, merged with his body, gradually turned into a shadow, and disappeared!
Seeing the ritual succeed, Shawn clasped his hands and withdrew his power. Suddenly, Charlie’s body on the pile of glutinous rice started trembling violently, then he shot up as if electrocuted, grabbed his rear, and howled, "Aah—my—my butt hurts so much!"