I said: "What exactly is a soul tattoo master? You want to teach me how to tattoo? Is a soul tattoo master a tattoo artist?"
"Of course not. A tattoo artist is just a simple master who helps people tattoo. As long as they learn the craft, anyone can be a tattoo artist. You can see the piles of tattoo shops on the street outside. They all tattoo people.
Just a pattern to make a little money."
"And you, you not only help people get tattoos, but you also have to pierce the soul into the tattoo. This is called soul tattooing. The tattoo pattern is just the most basic. The one who can pierce the soul into the pattern is the most awesome."
"This soul stabbing master is equivalent to the tattoo master?"
He shook his head.
"Soul-piercing masters are much more advanced than Yin tattoo masters. As long as they have ghost pictures and Yin spirits and can tattoo ghost objects on their bodies, they can become Yin tattoo masters. However, soul-piercing masters are not just for everyone.
What can be done, just like you, with a face in front and ghost marks behind, how many people can do it?"
"Only the lineage of soul-striking masters who have lost their incense for hundreds of years can do it."
I still don't understand something.
"Grandpa, don't you want to undo the curse on me? Why did you call me the soul assassin?"
"Only by becoming a soul stabbing master can I help you break the curse. This is the only way to break the curse. As for how to break the curse and when can it be broken? Then it depends on how you, the soul stabbing master, do it."
"Okay, I've said enough. If you still don't understand, it just means you're stupid."
"You only have ten days, you must learn what I teach you, otherwise..."
He glanced at me and didn't say anything else.
I'm going to stay here for ten days.
"I, can I call the school and ask for a day off, and talk to my girlfriend..."
"No." He interrupted me abruptly, with a look that scared me to the point of trembling.
Then the old man took my phone away very domineeringly.
Next is learning.
He first told me the basic knowledge and steps of tattooing.
Then he took out a piece of sheepskin and showed me how to do it.
Sheepskin is equivalent to human skin. He first chose a pattern, and then used a silver needle dipped in ink to pierce the pattern on the sheepskin little by little.
This is the most traditional and oldest tattoo technique, which is very different from today's new tattoos.
In less than half a day, I learned all the tricks he taught me.
"This is too simple. Isn't this just a tattoo?" I muttered, thinking he was going to teach me something profound?
But he glanced at me coldly and said in a hoarse voice: "Huh, this is just the most basic. The most difficult thing is to stab the soul."
Stab the soul? Yes, this is the most important thing, but how to stab the soul?
But he ignored me and coldly put a new piece of sheepskin in front of me and asked me to practice by myself.
I had no choice but to choose a pattern, follow his example, dip my needle in ink, and pierce the sheepskin.
After I practiced a few patterns, I had completely mastered them. Zhang Sangui refused to let me go and let me continue practicing.
That's it, until the tenth day.
I was practicing tattooing on parchment when I suddenly heard an operatic voice.
The sound actually came from me.
With trembling hands, I violently tore open the clothes on my chest.
The face on the chest still has its eyes closed, but its mouth is open, and its lips are opening and closing, making babbling sounds, which is gentle and sad.
I yelled and fell to the ground.
A flashback flashed through my mind: the actress my grandma had seen back then. She was hanging in a costume in a cave, and half of her body had been chopped clean.
My cry alarmed Zhang Sangui.
He grabbed my right hand and shouted, "It's done."
When I looked down, I almost got scared out of my mind.
My right hand turned blue-purple at some point, as if it had been smeared with heavy paint.
I shouted again, but Zhang Sangui's face was filled with joy.
"You are indeed the grandson of Old Ghost Li. He did not choose the wrong person. The fate of your family, Old Li, should not be cut off. From today on, you will truly become a soul assassin."
After that, before I could ask, Zhang Sangui started talking leisurely while smoking a cigarette.
"The most important thing about this soul stabbing master is your hand."
"With this hand of yours, you can summon any evil spirit."
"This is the power of the soul stabbing master."
This sounds like it is really much more advanced than a tattoo artist.
"You can use this hand to tattoo any pattern, summon any ghost, and pierce their soul into the pattern."
"Different yin spirits naturally have different effects. For example, koi can help with wealth, and Zhong Kui can ward off demons and ghosts.
Whether it is seeking wealth and luck, exorcising evil and avoiding evil, becoming thinner and more beautiful, becoming stronger or weaker, changing from male to female, suppressing ghosts and gods, money, sex, property, power, all can be obtained through soul stabbing."
I looked at him in surprise.
"Are you so awesome? This is simply omnipotent."
"Yes, it is omnipotent, but there are many taboos. If you don't do it right, it will be fatal."
"As for the taboos when stabbing the soul, I have written them all in a booklet and put it in the third drawer of the table in the back room. You can read it yourself."
"With your college-going brain, it is not difficult to remember these taboos. The key is how you do not violate these taboos when stabbing people's souls."
"Okay, the task assigned to me by Old Ghost Li has been completed, and I have repaid his favor. It's time for me to leave."
He put out the cigarette butt, stood up and walked towards the door.
Leaving now?
"Hey wait, um... I still have some questions to ask you. What is that thing that was eaten by my grandma back then? Did she know my grandpa a long time ago? After I became a soul assassin, the thing on my body was
Can the evil curse be broken? Also, what happened to the face just above my heart with its mouth open and singing an opera? And the ghost pattern on my back, is my grandfather's soul really inside?
"
I have too many questions in my mind.
The old man sneered.
"Did your grandfather tell you this?"
I shook my head and thought to myself, if my grandfather told me, would I still need to ask you?
He snorted: "Your grandfather didn't tell you, and I won't tell you, there is something called secret, do you know? If the secret is revealed, the consequences will be serious. I still want to live for two more years."