Emily Thompson said calmly, “You are not a cultivator, why are you asking about these things?”

James Thompson replied, “Just curious…”

After walking a bit further, Emily Thompson finally spoke, sparing her words: “Yes.”

James Thompson asked again, “What happens to a person if they lose their soul?”

Emily Thompson paused, as if she understood something, and said, “Don’t worry, although your three souls once left your body, the three souls are not inherently attached to the flesh. As long as it wasn’t for too long, there’s no major problem. For ordinary people, soul-leaving happens from time to time.”

James Thompson continued to ask, “Then what if someone loses their po?”

Emily Thompson said, “Po is different from the soul. The soul can exist outside the body, but the po cannot. The po is attached to the body. When the body dies, the seven po dissipate with it. If only the po is lost, the body won’t die immediately, but generally won’t survive more than half a year…”

In other words, once the soul dies, the person dies; when the person dies, the po also dissipates. After all, he was someone who had died once. Hearing this, James Thompson was already feeling uneasy and asked, “I died once before. Will my seven po dissipate…”

“It shouldn’t.” Emily Thompson comforted him, “After the three souls leave the body, the seven po need seven days to dissipate. You were only soul-separated for a few hours, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

Although Emily Thompson tried to reassure him, the old Daoist’s words still echoed in James Thompson’s mind. He looked at Emily Thompson and said, “Boss, can you check for me if my seven po are still there?”

Emily Thompson shook her head and said, “My cultivation is insufficient; I can’t check other people’s seven po.”

Just as James Thompson was feeling disappointed, she suddenly said, “However, the seven po are related to the body. If any po is lost, it can be inferred from the body’s condition.”

James Thompson asked urgently, “How can you tell?”

“There are seven po in a person, named Corpse Dog, Fushi, Queyin, Tunzei, Feidu, Chuhui, and Choulai. These seven po govern the body’s vitality.”

Emily Thompson looked at him and said, “Corpse Dog governs alertness and perception. If the Corpse Dog po dissipates, a person’s perception and alertness decrease. After falling asleep, it’s extremely hard to be awakened by outside noise. Cultivators who refine the Corpse Dog po can sense their surroundings even in deep sleep…”

James Thompson’s expression changed slightly. He had found it extremely hard to fall asleep these days, and when he did, he wouldn’t wake up until after noon. No matter how noisy it was outside in the morning, he was completely unaware…

Emily Thompson didn’t notice and continued, “Fushi is the life soul, governing consciousness. If the Fushi po dissipates, people often become absent-minded…”

James Thompson felt as if an arrow had struck his chest, his face turning a shade paler.

“Tunzei governs expelling evil, able to eliminate false evil and harmful winds. If the Tunzei po dissipates, evil winds easily invade the body, and people often fall ill…”

James Thompson covered his mouth and coughed, his face growing even paler.

“Feidu governs sleep. If the Feidu po dissipates, one cannot sleep at night…” Emily Thompson spoke again, and when she saw the heavy dark circles under James Thompson’s eyes, her delicate brows furrowed.

“Chuhui expels internal filth. Choulai governs internal breath. If the Choulai po dissipates, breathing becomes difficult…”

James Thompson touched his stuffy chest, clinging to a sliver of hope, and asked with difficulty, “What about Queyin?”

“Queyin…”

Emily Thompson didn’t explain immediately. She looked at him for a long time before finally saying, “For men, Queyin governs, governs…”

James Thompson couldn’t wait and asked, “Governs what?”

“Governs kidney essence.” Emily Thompson averted her gaze and said expressionlessly, “You, um… can you, you know, get up in the morning?”

“I can’t.” James Thompson shook his head and said, “Lately I can only fall asleep very late, and I don’t wake up until after noon.”

His sleep had become a serious problem, causing his days to start at noon recently.

Emily Thompson’s gaze drifted, and she lowered her voice, “I don’t mean that. I mean that…”

“Which…” James Thompson asked in confusion, then as if realizing something, he was struck like thunder.

Emily Thompson had already gotten the answer from his expression.

“How is that possible…” Emily Thompson stood there in a daze and said, “Could it be that you didn’t just have a normal soul separation, but were affected by some evil force? Otherwise, how could your seven po dissipate so quickly…”

James Thompson no longer cared how his previous self had died. He just looked at Emily Thompson with infinite hope and asked, “Boss, is there any way to save me?”

Emily Thompson frowned, took out a folded talisman from her waist again, and said, “Even if all seven po are lost, you won’t die immediately, but without the protection of the seven po, evil winds can easily invade your body. This exorcism talisman can protect you from outside evil. You must keep it on you at all times.”

James Thompson put the talisman away close to his body and said, “Thank you, boss.”

“You’re welcome. Don’t forget you’re my subordinate.” Emily Thompson glanced at him and said, “I’ll go back and check the records first. Wait for me at home.”

Emily Thompson left first. James Thompson walked down the street alone, dejected. He had thought that surviving a great disaster would bring good fortune, but who knew he still couldn’t escape the fate of his previous life…

Only about half a year left to live—already miserable enough. Worse still, penniless as he was, he didn’t even have money for lunch. If only he’d borrowed a bit more from the boss earlier…

As for the seven po, he could only pin his hopes on Emily Thompson. For now, the most important thing for James Thompson was to earn some money and solve his food problem.

He wandered aimlessly to the door, when two figures approached from ahead.