An old early 20th century manuscript depicting the Liu Ren template.
Liu Ren Sect (六壬) is one of many folk cults grouped under Taoism. This particular sect is made popular by a few Hong Kong masters and there are many followers in Southeast Asia. Thanks to a Hong Kong paranormal show, Liu Ren masters have made much fortunes for a decade or so.
I have to confess, I was a fan of Liu Ren practices and I was enchanted by the so-called invulnerable powers against knife and fire. Later, I learnt that the invulnerability powers were merely caused by hypnotic techniques of some sort.
When I was still in primary school, I had a group of schoolmates very fanatic about Liu Ren practices. They always boasted to have achieved the status of 'gods' which has enchanted little me so much that I always buy tidbits for them especially their leader.
The leader was Ah Beng and he used to show off his 'power' by invoking his guardian spirit which was the 'Monkey God'. The other followers had their own protectors: Guangong, Neza, Taoist immortals and etc.
The whole bunch of kids normally performed their stunts in a field at the back of the school. Those flips and somersaults did amaze me until I was really convinced that my friends were indeed revered gods.
Only one downside was that those gods would possess the disciples' bodies randomly even during the class...
Once Ah Beng was attending mathematics, he suddenly possessed by the Monkey God. The Monkey God jumped onto the desk and asked for a piece of banana.
The teacher passed Ah Beng one side of his shoe and Ah Beng cum Monkey God became agitated and jumped onto the teacher. Thus forcing the teacher to flee the classroom.
At the same time, other Ah Beng's followers also started to be possessed by 'gods' one after another...
At this point, the whole classroom became a mess with other pupils ran out for safety.
The commotion caused the headmaster and the disciplinary master and other staffs to control the situation. And Ah Beng and the gang were sent home for a day as they were deemed 'emotionally unstable'.
One day, Ah Beng said the biggest rooster which was Ah Huat dad's beloved pat has transformed into a powerful 'rooster spirit' (公鸡精). If nothing was done, this rooster spirit can harm Ah Huat and his family members.
So said, The gang went to Ah Huat's house and I closely followed behind...
When we entered Ah Huat's house, the rooster was standing in the middle of the living room. It raised its head staring at us as if expecting our arrival.
Ah Beng immediately exclaimed: "See! The evil rooster spirit is preparing to attack! Quickly, all of us make the sword mudra!"
So everyone made the sword mudra and poined at the old rooster. The rooster didn't barge and started to 'cock-a-doodle-doo'.
Ah Beng shouted: "Take cover! It is attacking. Take out my power blanket (法布) and wrap the evil thing quickly!"
Ah Huat quickly took out a piece of yellow cloth with some talismans inscribed on it and covered the rooster. The poor rooster struggled for a while but succumbed to Ah Huat's body weight.
When there was no more movement, Ah Huat removed the yellow cloth, the rooster was already lifeless. Ah Beng laughed: "Ha! Ha! Ha! We have saved some poor soul and one additional merit recorded in the heaven!"
The gang then left Ah Huat's house leaving the bewildered Ah Huat staring at the carcass...
The next day, I heard Ah Huat's sister said that Ah Huat was beatened up by his dad.
When I saw Ah Huat again, he wasn't smiling and of course, I dare not asked the reason his walking limped...
After my primary schooling, I have lost contact with the Liu Ren matters until I started to work. Of course, my sentiment against Liu Ren can never be the same.
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