madnovel Chapter 1 Folk Customs Notebook, Suppressing Evil Objects
Chapter 1 Folk Customs Notebook, Suppressing Evil Objects
Qingming Festival is approaching.
Qidong Province, Qingjiang City, Minghe District.
Jiang Jun sat in front of the computer, his expression somewhat solemn.
The search history on my browser was truly appalling.
#Human skin lanterns discovered in Huaiyang City; twelve people have been murdered.
#Zombie spotted in Zangning District, 80-year-old woman found dead on the street
#Ancient tomb in Fenzhi County robbed; female ghost seeks revenge on the tomb robbers
……
Jiang Jun sincerely hoped that this was a prank.
After all, as a folklore enthusiast, he had heard the professor emphasize during a folklore lecture at school yesterday: there are no ghosts in this world!
After finishing the lecture, he had just stepped out of the classroom when he inexplicably found himself transported to another world.
Or rather, it wasn't time travel, but rather someone using a "what-if phone booth" or similar power to directly distort the course of world development.
The date is still April 2026.
All his interpersonal relationships remained the same as before.
However, social development, especially in terms of technology, has regressed by about twenty years.
Not only are conditions poor in all aspects, but the key issue is that strange and bizarre things are rampant, and the authorities are powerless to cover it up.
This gave him a little shock.
"The most urgent task..." He frowned and clicked on an official announcement.
With Qingming Festival approaching, the Department of Divine Revelation reminds the public to make sure they properly perform tomb sweeping and ancestor worship duties...
notice
First, express your condolences in a limited way, without showing fear, and do not say words such as "go home" or "goodbye". Instead, pray that your deceased relatives and friends will be reborn in the Pure Land or be reincarnated soon.
Second, if you hear someone calling your name, do not respond, and especially do not have the mistaken idea that "the monster that others are afraid of is your family member whom you miss day and night." They are not calling you.
Third, never sweep the wrong grave. If you find that you have swept the wrong grave, please seek help from the Department of Divine Revelation immediately.
4. After tomb sweeping, do not linger, do not look back when leaving, and absolutely refrain from wandering outside. Upon returning home, keep the doors and windows tightly closed until sunrise the next day.
Jiang Jun read it word by word, and after a long while, he finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, these 'good brothers' usually only appear at night. Otherwise, who would dare to go to sweep the graves?"
The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs is the official agency in this world that manages supernatural affairs. It is very mysterious, and there are no videos or photos of them handling supernatural events circulating online.
Jiang Jun wasn't sure if they had real skills or were just trying to cover things up and hide the truth.
He didn't want to entrust his safety to someone else's expertise.
Fortunately, I'm not entirely without support!
Jiang Jun opened a small booklet next to his computer; it was his folklore notes.
The notebook originally had thirty-six pages, but the later pages seemed to be sealed off, and only the first four pages could be opened.
The writing on it disappeared, as if it had been erased by some mysterious force, leaving only a blank space.
Jiang Jun frowned slightly. Following the instructions in the notebook, he dipped a brush in cinnabar ink and wrote a few neat lines of small regular script on the first page.
Thanks to the calligraphy elective course in his second year, he wrote quite well.
[Amulet for warding off evil spirits: a willow woven "mysterious and forbidden" charm]
[Preparation: Take a three-foot-long willow branch, peel off the bark leaving the white part, and weave it into an octagonal circle, crossing the branches in the middle to form a grid pattern.]
[Chant the incantation: Green willow, green willow branches, weave a circle and hang it by the window. Blocking from all eight directions, sealing in a cross, all monsters and evil spirits will detour.]
[Usage: With doors and windows tightly closed, hang it in the center of the window to ward off evil spirits. The best effect is achieved by weaving willow branches on Qingming Festival!]
As the brush touched the paper, the small characters written in vermilion faintly glowed with a red light, yet they were difficult to solidify.
There was a mysterious force guiding Jiang Jun, which he had to restrain and achieve a certain balance in order to successfully create the talisman.
He hesitated for a long time, and seeing that the red light could not be condensed, he had no choice but to add another line of small characters.
[Taboo: The willow branches must be broken off before dawn and must not be exposed to sunlight before they are woven. Otherwise, hanging them up will anger monsters!]
In an instant, the words on the notebook shone brightly, turning the study a crimson red.
Under the red light, Jiang Jun began to understand the capabilities of the folk custom notebook.
He could compile talismans to suppress evil spirits in his notebook.
Each page can only record one item; the front side has text, while the back side cannot be written on.
Currently, only the first four pages of the notebook can be opened, meaning that only four items can be compiled for the time being.
The first finished product of each type of talisman, made by his own hands, is called the "Talisman Original," which has an extremely strong restraining effect on ghosts and monsters.
At the same time, the divine power of the talisman will also be bestowed upon Jiang Jun, granting him related abilities.
After that, whether he makes it himself or teaches the method to others, he can only obtain the [Suppressing Object Clone], which will be much weaker in suppressing monsters.
Whenever the avatar of the talisman takes effect and helps people avoid harm from monsters, Jiang Jun can gain "merit" and enhance the power of the talisman's original form.
If the number of "Suppressing Objects" clones reaches a certain level, he can also unlock the editing privileges for the next "Suppressing Object".
As for why the first talisman was chosen to be "the one that forbids evil"...
Jiang Jun turned his head to look out the window.
In the stillness of the night, the full moon hangs high in the sky.
A willow tree, its branches hanging down like a young girl's flowing hair, swayed in the wind, shattering the moonlight and creating a rather eerie sight.
But Jiang Jun wasn't worried. After all, the tree was quite old, and if it really wanted to harm people, it wouldn't have waited until now.
In the second semester of my senior year, as graduation approached, the school had already stopped offering classes.
To make it easier to collect rent, Jiang Jun moved back into the self-built house left to him by his parents and became a happy landlord.
Before the world's development became distorted, he quite liked the willow tree outside his window, but now he only feels disgusted by it.
He shook his head, set an alarm for 4 a.m., and prepared to pick willow branches at the appointed time.
*
That night, Jiang Jun slept very restlessly!
Human skin lanterns, zombies, female ghosts... they all haunted his dreams, claiming his life in a series of attacks.
When he was startled awake by the ringing alarm clock, he was already soaked in sweat and almost dehydrated.
He poured himself a cup of black tea, sipped it slowly, and gradually calmed himself before going to the window.
By this time, the moon had set and the starry sky had dimmed.
Only the morning star is fulfilling its duty of guiding the dawn.
Jiang Jun looked out the dark window, then with a creak, opened the glass window and folded off a willow branch.
At the break, it seemed as if tree sap had seeped out, making it slippery.
It didn't resemble willow sap; it was more like some unpleasant liquid.
Jiang Jun cleared his mind, trying not to think too much. He closed his eyes and broke off several more willow branches until he had enough to weave before stopping and closing the window.
Because the weaving of "Guibuxu" cannot be exposed to sunlight, Jiang Jun drew the curtains and then got to work.
He first took out a ruler as a reference, cut the willow branch into three-foot lengths, and then peeled off the bark.
The willow tree outside his window seemed to have a lot of sap; it made his hands feel sticky.
Jiang Jun calmed himself down and then began weaving willow branches.
His fingers flew across the paper, and in no time, an octagonal willow twig circle was woven.
He fiddled with it for a while, trying to make it as square as possible, so that it looked like a Bagua (Eight Trigrams), before filling it with willow branches and weaving it into a net.
About half an hour later, the true form of the "Ghostly Prohibition" was born!
Jiang Jun recited the incantation he had composed with utmost devotion: "Green willows, green willow branches..."
"Whoosh..." The notebook on the desk turned automatically without any wind, flipping to the page containing the item: "[Suppressing Item: Willow Twig Weaving 'Unspeakable']".
The red characters even gleamed with a hint of gold.
The "Ghostly Prohibition" in Jiang Jun's hand then emitted a clear light, flickering several times as if it were breathing.
As the clear light dissipated, "Ghostly Prohibition" transformed from wood into a lustrous, amber-like texture.
Jiang Junfu had a sudden inspiration and hung it on the window of his study.
"Buzz buzz buzz..." A buzzing sound rang out.
A gentle breeze swept through the room, clearing away the gloom and dust, and bringing a refreshing atmosphere.
At the same time, the true form of the "Unforgiving Demon" emitted a beam of clear light, enveloping Jiang Jun.
With a series of cracking sounds, his joints popped, and his height increased from 1.78 meters to 1.85 meters. The pajamas he had just bought were already not quite the right size.
The muscles became more solid, and the strength increased accordingly.
Jiang Jun picked up the 50-kilogram arm strength trainer he usually uses for exercise. It used to take a lot of effort to bend it, but now he can align the two handles with just a little effort.
In addition, his five senses—sight, hearing, smell, etc.—were greatly enhanced. He even awakened something akin to "divine consciousness."
His handsome face, which had been somewhat sallow due to staying up late and anxiety, suddenly became radiant, and everyone who saw him had to praise him as "handsome."
Jiang Jun sensed the change and realized with some regret: "It turns out it was just a one-off deal."
The power of suppressing objects cannot unconditionally make him grow taller and stronger; it merely cleanses his marrow and restores his body to the state it should naturally develop into.
It should be noted that during adolescence, inadequate nutrition, exercise, and sleep can all negatively impact physical development.
The power of suppressing objects merely reshapes this process in a very short time.
"Even if I can't keep growing taller forever, it doesn't matter..." Jiang Jun's thoughts stirred, a flash of clear light appeared, and his presence instantly weakened. "The key is this..."
With this power protecting him, even when he is out and about and not under the protection of "Gui Bu Xu", as long as he does not provoke him, the monsters will subconsciously avoid him.
Having completed the creation of the first talisman and gained its power, Jiang Jun finally relaxed.
He went to the kitchen, made himself a cup of soy milk, steamed a few buns, and made do with a simple breakfast.
"Next, we need to promote 'The Unspeakable Ghost'! We need to accumulate more merit and unlock the ability to compile the second type of talisman as soon as possible."
"Hmm, there are still three days until Qingming Festival, it should be enough time?"
He turned on his computer and first used a series of botnets to hide his true identity before finding the largest forum in the country for "weird" enthusiasts.
After registering an account, browsing posts, and figuring out the forum rules, he posted his first post.