Chapter 22: The Forbidden Folk Art of Shrinking Yang Spell (Part One)
Ye Mengyao stood behind Li Chengfeng, secretly mocking him. He knelt and bowed repeatedly before a portrait, muttering incantations as if he were mad. Impatiently, she stood to the side, holding a small plastic bag containing Ye Wuming’s hair and fingernails.
Li Chengfeng bowed continuously before the ancestral altar. Seeing no immediate reaction from the master’s portrait, he finally felt relieved, believing the ancestor had forgiven him. Little did he know, the real trouble was yet to come.
Li Chengfeng thought the issue of the master’s position was settled and now planned to make Ye Wuming pay dearly.
“Ancestor, wait for me. I will avenge you,” he vowed solemnly. “That bastard will pay a heavy price.”
He then turned to Ye Mengyao with a serious expression. “Bring me Ye Wuming’s fingernails and hair.”
“Here you go!” she replied, handing over the bag.
Li Chengfeng took the bag containing Ye Wuming’s hair and nails and asked Ye Mengyao to write down Ye Wuming’s birth date and time on a piece of paper.
Curious, Ye Mengyao watched him closely, eager to discover how he intended to curse Ye Wuming.
Li Chengfeng opened the plastic bag. Inside were a few clipped fingernails and some strands of hair. Strangely, the hair was all bent and twisted. Frowning, he recalled that Ye Wuming’s hair was supposed to be straight. How could these be so crooked?
Suddenly, a thought struck him: these were not hair strands at all—they were pubic hairs. Ye Mengyao, foolishly, had mistaken them for head hair.
He decided not to tell her, fearing she might be disgusted if she knew these were not head hairs but pubic hairs.
Looking at the twisted hairs in the bag, a wicked smile spread across Li Chengfeng’s face as he recalled a forbidden folk curse—the Shrinking Yang Curse.
During the Song Dynasty, this curse had been banned by the government and righteous sects, forbidden for anyone to use.
Yet, it continued to circulate among secret and unorthodox sects.
Seeing Li Chengfeng staring blankly at the hairs, Ye Mengyao asked curiously, “Mr. Li, is there something wrong with the hair and nails?”
“What are you standing there for?” he asked.
“Nothing, I was just thinking about which curse to use,” he replied casually.
Her interest piqued, Ye Mengyao had long wanted to know what method Li Chengfeng would use to curse Ye Wuming and make that arrogant bastard suffer.
She asked anxiously, “Mr. Li, which curse do you intend to use on Ye Wuming?”
“The forbidden folk curse—the Shrinking Yang Curse.”
Hearing the words “forbidden curse,” her curiosity deepened. Those words carried an aura of mystery.
She had never believed in such mystical things, dismissing them as superstition. But since meeting Li Chengfeng, she realized there were many mysteries in the world.
“Mr. Li, what exactly is the Shrinking Yang Curse? What happens to someone afflicted by it?”
“You’re a young lady; it’s better you don’t know such things,” he said awkwardly.
“Why not? Am I not allowed to know what the Shrinking Yang Curse is?”
“I don’t want to discuss it, but you must hear it today.”
Her tone sharpened with insistence.
Seeing her determination, Li Chengfeng had no choice but to explain the forbidden folk curse.
The Shrinking Yang Curse primarily targets men; it has little effect on women.
A man afflicted by it would lose his manhood—the “bird and its egg” would shrink back into the abdomen, leaving only a small part visible for urination.
Before the Spring and Autumn period, the Shrinking Yang Curse was permitted throughout China.
Male attendants serving in the imperial palace were often cursed by sorcerers so they could not misbehave in the royal harem.
Yet some attendants learned how to dispel the curse, causing chaos in the palace’s inner chambers.
When Emperor Qin unified the six kingdoms, to keep the palace orderly, he ordered all palace attendants to be castrated, discontinuing the use of the Shrinking Yang Curse.
Castration was more effective and remained the standard until the late Qing Dynasty.
Thus, the Shrinking Yang Curse became a forbidden folk curse, and over time, few heard of it.
After hearing Li Chengfeng’s explanation, Ye Mengyao blushed slightly, wondering how such a curse could exist.
She still doubted it, thinking it sounded like a fairy tale.
She didn’t believe the curse could rob a man of his manhood.
Li Chengfeng, knowing she was skeptical, smiled mischievously.
“Miss Ye, do you not believe me?”
“I won’t believe it unless I see it myself. It sounds too supernatural.”
“Heh heh... today, I’ll let you witness the power of the forbidden Shrinking Yang Curse.”
Casting a curse on someone was no easy task. First, one had to make a straw effigy, which served as the main medium for the curse.
Ye Mengyao looked puzzled, not understanding why a straw doll was necessary, so she asked.
Li Chengfeng smiled patiently and explained.
“When cursing a person, a straw effigy is made because humans consume five grains and carry the energy of these grains. Therefore, the straw used must be from the roots of the five grains.”