Lin Shi Yu was silent for a moment before lowering his voice. “Master never told me the exact details, but he did tell me quite clearly… he was born with past-life wisdom. Not the sort of child prodigy people talk about in folk stories. I mean truly born already knowing.”
Qin Shu understood instantly, and an extremely bold, almost unbelievable possibility surfaced in his mind.
Because among cultivators, “past-life wisdom” had a very clear and specific definition. Translated into ordinary language, it meant Daoist Master Xu possessed memories from his previous life!
And that previous life had probably lasted an extremely long time, reaching back thousands of years, to when Qin Shu was still Warden Qin and Pei Zhao was still Lord Zhaoyuan… Most importantly, Daoist Master Xu must have interacted with both of them.
Otherwise, there was no way Daoist Master Xu could have obtained the shen dragon’s dragon pearl. Even less could he have understood the contents of the Nine Netherworld Prison Scripture so well from the beginning, acting like an inscrutable riddle-master who could fluently explain the characteristics of the Nine Netherworld Scripture and the Heavenly Eye, yet never dared personally teach Qin Shu anything substantial.
Looking back now, every inexplicable attempt Daoist Master Xu had made to keep his distance whenever Qin Shu asked him for guidance suddenly became completely reasonable. He had simply been trying to preserve his own miserable little life.
After all, he definitely knew who Qin Shu’s real teacher was. There was one and only one: Lord Zhaoyuan.
If Daoist Master Xu had casually become half a teacher to Qin Shu before Qin Shu learned the truth, growing too close to him and building too intimate a relationship… Actually, yes. Pei Zhao absolutely would have gone looking for trouble.
Even if Daoist Master Xu was a white-haired old man, Pei Zhao would probably still have found it extremely difficult to resist making trouble for him.
Among ordinary people, a genuine master-disciple relationship based on direct transmission was already as close as family. From supporting one another through life to caring for the elder in old age and seeing them through death, the bond was extraordinarily deep. Among cultivators, it only became even more profound.
The relationship formed by transmitting arts and teaching the Dao was exceptionally special, intimate, and tightly bound. One’s truest self, deepest thoughts, and most profound exchanges would inevitably be exposed during the process. Their destinies and karma, the sins they committed and merits they accumulated, all became tightly entangled and impossible to separate.
The logic in cultivation novels where you beat the junior and the senior comes, beat the senior and the old monster comes, was actually extremely reasonable. Just look at what had happened when Lin Shi Yu was endangered. Daoist Master Xu, a man who treasured his life and loved money, had still done everything possible to stand at the very front and bear the consequences first.
But even so… even so, Daoist Master Xu still seemed far too frightened. Pei Zhao might be possessive, but his personality was obviously excellent. He was gentle and easy to reason with, sensible and kind. Why would anyone avoid him like a ravenous tiger or wolf?
Qin Shu pieced together more and more of the situation, repeatedly comparing his theory against everything he had seen and heard while dealing with Daoist Master Xu. The suspicion in his heart steadily solidified.
Might as well test it. If he guessed wrong, nothing would happen anyway.
He took a deep breath, turned slightly toward the living room, deliberately lowered his voice, adjusted his tone and pitch, and called out sinisterly, “Yi-12!”
Thump!
The instant the words left his mouth, Daoist Master Xu instinctively fell off the sofa and slammed both knees heavily onto the floor.
If Qin Shu had not carefully chosen and purchased such a thick cashmere rug, the force of that kneel might almost have cracked the tiles beneath it from a distance.
“M-My Lord, cough… My Lord is wise beyond compare. You recognized this little one’s identity so quickly…”
The ingratiating tone flowed out with astonishing familiarity, carrying an extremely obvious tremor. Daoist Master Xu’s face wrinkled into a chrysanthemum from smiling so hard, layer upon layer of creases squeezed together by sheer effort.
Pei Zhao: “…”
Huang Yu Yuan: “…”
Lin Shi Yu: “…”
All three faces went blank for an instant. The living room became so silent a falling needle could have been heard.
Qin Shu nearly choked on his own words too. He closed his eyes briefly. “Get up already. What kind of example are you setting by kneeling all over the place in front of your disciple? We’re in modern society. Is there any point keeping this feudal garbage alive? It made my whole body uncomfortable back then, and you’re still doing it now…”
“My Lord, this little one… this little one deserves death. I never dared reveal my identity, and I even had the audacity to go out alone and establish my own lineage… My Lord is merciful, but this little one truly has a guilty conscience. Once the guilt hits, my knees simply refuse to stay straight.”
Daoist Master Xu answered in a pinched, careful voice and cautiously shuffled back onto the sofa, though he only perched on the very edge. With an embarrassed smile, he continued, “This little one was one of My Lord’s personal guards, a direct subordinate who should observe proper etiquette more strictly than anyone. Kneeling a little is only natural.”
“Now you’re volunteering to claim a connection?” Pei Zhao raised a brow, finally understanding as well. “Not bad, Xu Zi Ru. What treasure did you use to conceal your aura? I’ve spoken with you several times recently and never detected the slightest trace of an underworld officer on you.”
“Lord Zhaoyuan flatters me. This little one truly is forcing a connection now. I cannot really be called an underworld officer anymore either. I’m merely an insignificant Daoist priest without any particular reputation…”
At this point Daoist Master Xu remembered the events of the distant past and sighed with genuine emotion. “When Fengdu was destroyed back then, this little one died as well. After my soul scattered, I entered reincarnation. I had already accumulated enough merit and service records, then added a little gold and silver as bribes, and only then managed to change my identity and enter the human path. After being reborn, this little one became a true human, so naturally I lost the yin aura I once possessed. It’s perfectly normal that Lord Zhaoyuan couldn’t recognize me.”
Qin Shu suddenly understood. “So all that money you secretly hoarded back then was meant to bribe underworld officials so you could reincarnate as a human? You really planned far ahead.”
“Hehe. My Lord sees clearly. When this little one reincarnated, I handed over all the wealth I’d accumulated over a thousand years. It was worldly property I couldn’t take with me anyway. The underworld officials of the new afterlife were overjoyed, so they secretly opened my past-life wisdom for me. It was both a blessing and a curse…”
“They opened your past-life wisdom, so your basic nature never changed. You survived to this age in the human world and you’re still cowardly and obsessed with money?” Qin Shu laughed and shook his head helplessly. For a moment he genuinely did not know what else to say, his emotions somewhat complicated.
He and Yi-12 had never been especially close, but they had interacted frequently inside the ghost domain and never had any real conflict. Qin Shu did not interfere with Yi-12’s habit of scraping together money everywhere, while Yi-12 never asked what Qin Shu had spent so long doing inside Heaven Cell No. 1… Each minded his own business, and in the end they had actually gotten along fairly harmoniously.
After thousands of years, old acquaintances who had long since been scattered still had the fortune to meet again. That alone was something worth celebrating.
“Now that everyone’s old secrets are out, stop hiding everything all the time.”
Qin Shu thought for a moment, first set the still-warm tea on the coffee table, then unhurriedly poured several cups. He drank one himself too, calming his nerves.
Then he looked at Daoist Master Xu and continued, “Since you got another chance to be human, then live properly as a human. Stop dropping to your knees at every opportunity. In a few days when we invite the deity, you’ll have plenty of time to kneel until you’re satisfied.”
“What My Lord says is…”
“You’re still calling me My Lord?”
“Cough. What M-Mage Qin says is correct. Habits accumulated over a thousand years truly are difficult to change. This poor Daoist will do his best to adapt…” Daoist Master Xu nervously began playing with his beard, clearly uncomfortable with Qin Shu approaching him.
It was fear carved into his bones. The moment Qin Shu exposed his identity, it could no longer be suppressed and had entered the stage of a full volcanic eruption.
Qin Shu did not force him further. He settled comfortably back into the sofa, wrapped an arm around Pei Zhao, and returned to the earlier subject. “So, can someone finally tell me why Lord Zhaoyuan’s dragon pearl was in your possession?”
The room went quiet for another moment. Daoist Master Xu spoke weakly again. “…Cough. Mage Qin, this little… this poor Daoist went personally to the ruins of Fengdu and recovered it after overcoming immense difficulty. Back then, I planned that if I ever met you again, I would find the most appropriate opportunity to present the pearl and win back your trust.
“Who could have expected Heaven not to follow one’s wishes? This poor Daoist never imagined my wretched disciple would suddenly fall into danger. Matters involving one’s own household are difficult to divine clearly. I truly couldn’t predict it.”
He honestly laid out his private calculations, obviously nervous about them. After all, if he had handed over the dragon pearl much earlier, perhaps Qin Shu would never have suffered this high-fever “tribulation.”
“Better that you took it than someone else with bad intentions. Thank you.”
Qin Shu held no grudge over it. In truth, he had never been angry about falling into the ghost domain in the first place. The experience had been extremely important to both him and Pei Zhao, and absolutely impossible to avoid.
His thoughts immediately focused on the more important information. “Where are the ruins of Fengdu? Wasn’t the current underworld rebuilt on top of them?”
“No. They’re in Yu City. The dragon vein was also reborn inside that old mountain, gradually growing its main vein and branches. Precisely because nobody would imagine the newborn power emerging from the ruins of Fengdu, the dragon vein’s secrecy was perfectly preserved.”
Pei Zhao answered lightly. With other people present, he had put on that cold, distant mask again. Only his back remained lazily pressed against Qin Shu’s chest.
Seeing that Qin Shu understood, Pei Zhao continued explaining to everyone, “At this point, the dragon pearl is no longer necessary to me. It is merely an additional source of energy. If anyone encounters an urgent need, you may ask to borrow it. I’ve already adjusted the pearl’s structure somewhat, so it will no longer drag people into ghost domains so easily.”
Lin Shi Yu froze and widened his eyes in disbelief, while Daoist Master Xu’s eyes began to shine.
“L-Lord Zhaoyuan is so generous and benevolent! This poor Daoist and my wretched disciple could die ten thousand deaths and still fail to repay such grace! Qingfeng, kneel down! Hurry and thank Lord Zhaoyuan for his great kindness!”
Daoist Master Xu’s voice began trembling again, but this time not from fear. It came from sincere shock and gratitude.
Because he understood the power and value of a shen dragon’s pearl, thousands of times better than Qin Shu currently did. If such a thing were thrown into the cultivation world for people to fight over, even with the danger to life it carried, it would absolutely trigger wave after wave of bloody massacres… Yet Pei Zhao had casually granted them permission to borrow it and had even removed the source of danger so it could be used safely.
This was the sort of opportunity nobody would dare imagine even in their dreams.
The instant Daoist Master Xu finished speaking, two heavy thumps sounded as master and disciple struck the floor in perfect unison.
Huang Yu Yuan, who had been standing nearby pretending to be a door guardian, looked left, then right. When he saw Lin Shi Yu kneel, he hurriedly knelt too. With the terrifying strength of an ox yao, he nearly destroyed Qin Shu’s beloved cashmere rug.
“Modern society. Is there seriously nobody here who can stop this…? Zhaozhao, please control them. I can’t.” Qin Shu went numb all over. Sitting on the sofa while subjected to this kind of visual assault was genuinely unbearable.
Pei Zhao was considerably more accustomed to it. He unhurriedly told the three of them to stand and continue speaking. After that he became a little more careful and avoided mentioning anything likely to make them emotional again.
Everyone quietly drank tea and discussed business. Once they finished going over the finer details of preparing the altar, and before the three guests left, Qin Shu deliberately dragged out the restless Yuanbao and made him expand into his imposing giant form, happily displaying his child’s beautiful, powerful shell.
The master and disciples were forced to invent an assortment of lavish compliments. Only after they had praised Yuanbao to the heavens, leaving him proudly swishing his tail before leaping onto Qin Shu, did they finally dare flee the house.
“Yuanbao, do you know how much you weigh now?!” Qin Shu nearly got flattened on the spot as that iron-hard gold-and-red shell crashed heavily against him.
The many pairs of insect legs were covered in tiny hairs. They looked soft, but were actually as sharp as silver needles. Yuanbao affectionately curled around Qin Shu’s waist. Qin Shu instinctively reached out to pet him and immediately had his entire hand punctured bloody by the bristles.
“Yuanbao.” Pei Zhao, still lazily drinking tea on the sofa, detected the scent of blood and spoke in a low, ominous voice.
The next instant, Yuanbao instinctively trembled and fled without hesitation. He moved like lightning. Qin Shu nearly failed to see the speed with which Yuanbao shrank himself and shot toward the basement.
“Yuanbao’s incredibly strong now.” Qin Shu looked away, returned to the sofa, and held out his blood-covered hand. He coughed guiltily too. “At least if he can’t win a fight later and needs to run, he’ll definitely be able to escape by himself.”
Pei Zhao took his hand and activated his magic. Gentle light flowed around them. Every trace of blood vanished from Qin Shu’s skin, and the punctures Yuanbao had left healed completely in an instant.
“That feels amazing… Spell cultivators are so fashionable!” Qin Shu looked at his hand wrapped in soft light and could not help marveling again. “Nice and cool. Doesn’t hurt at all anymore.”
“Lin Shi Yu and the others will go to the hospital tomorrow to arrange the altar. Be more careful over the next few days.” Pei Zhao glanced at him and ultimately said nothing else, continuing with business instead. “Don’t eat too many filthy things. Don’t come into contact with too many kinds of evil beings either, so you don’t offend whatever deity arrives.”
“So basically, go to school peacefully, then come home and sleep. Nothing else.” Qin Shu tilted his head.
“Correct. Especially don’t play around with ignorant insects until you’re covered in blood.” Pei Zhao emphasized the point gloomily, squeezing Qin Shu’s hand with neither too much nor too little force.
Qin Shu tugged him into his arms instead and cheerfully defended Yuanbao. “Hey, kids being naughty is normal. He’ll mature eventually. Forget it, forget it…”
Pei Zhao took a deep breath. “This is why I hate children.”
That said, if Yuanbao had grown into this sturdy, carefree creature… Pei Zhao himself deserved most of the credit.
Qin Shu still remembered the heavy atmosphere on the day he first met Yuanbao. He had barely understood anything back then and had gone searching for Liu Yang Yang’s location, relying entirely on that little centipede with its broken tail and missing legs to guide and plan the way…
Remembering it now was inexplicably a little painful. As long as the little creature was happy now, that was enough. Qin Shu was extremely satisfied with Yuanbao’s present state.
Three days later, Liu Yang Yang returned safely to Jiangcheng. The altar built for the deity-invitation ritual also left Qin Shu extremely satisfied.
Now that his identity had been exposed, Daoist Master Xu certainly did not dare economize on resources. He poured everything he had into arranging the ritual together with his disciple. The cold private hospital room became almost extravagantly decorated. According to the nurses passing by, it looked as though a historical-drama production crew had requisitioned the place.
Elegant, gentle jiangzhen incense drifted from the burner in thin clouds, mingling with the fragrance of fresh flowers still carrying beads of dew.
Daoist Master Xu handled the chanting and liturgical melodies, Lin Shi Yu assisted beside him, while Huang Yu Yuan stood steadily to one side carrying magnificent canopies and banners that nearly covered the hospital-room ceiling. All three had dressed in their most formal ritual robes, their hair and crowns arranged without the slightest flaw.
They had even hired a professional percussion-and-wind ensemble specializing in rituals. The musicians played outside in the hospital corridor that had been deliberately cleared for the occasion. They were Daoist Master Xu’s longtime collaborators and remarkably skilled.
Chen Shui had never seen a Daoist altar ceremony and stared in stunned amazement. Liu Bai Long, whose mind was already confused, was even more badly frightened. Whenever Daoist Master Xu scooped water from the purification vessel and scattered it toward her, she trembled violently, covered her ears to block the sound of the suona, and struggled madly to flee the hospital room as though she had been burned.
Only Liu Yang Yang and Chen Shui restraining her from either side could barely keep her on the bed, which showed just how violently she was struggling.
Logically, she should not have reacted this way. Back in Phoenix Village, Village Chief Liu might have been mentally confused, but she had never frantically tried to escape like this or displayed such exaggerated aggression.
That did not mean something was wrong with the deity-invitation ritual. It meant… the filthy, evil things inside her were hidden extremely deeply, and after losing Chen Li Chi, Phoenix Village had entered an awkward gap between generations without another sufficiently powerful shaman-healer capable of dealing with them.
Only now had those dirty things happened to encounter the purifying altar water prepared by Daoist Master Xu, which directly countered them.
This might work. Qin Shu thought silently. For some reason, he felt the preliminary rites of this ceremony resembled Father William’s exorcism in certain ways. Both were extremely effective against evil things.
The more solemn and intense the scene became, the more Qin Shu, who had nothing to do, wanted someone to chat with.
But Qin Shu could not go anywhere. He was standing quietly beside the incense burner, guarding the offering table against accidental disturbance.
Pei Zhao, on the other hand, had stayed outside and refused to enter.
He said it would be inappropriate for him to go inside.
Qin Shu had no idea what exactly was inappropriate about Pei Zhao, but nobody could force Pei Zhao to do something he did not want. So Qin Shu could only remain miserably alone inside the hospital room, exchanging endless silent looks with Liu Yang Yang and the others.
Soon, Daoist Master Xu’s steps changed. He approached the offering table in a strange posture. The ritual footwork known as Pacing the Dipper was something only Daoist priests truly understood, stepping through the stars and constellations of the celestial palaces with movements light and ethereal enough to resemble walking through the Nine Heavens, allowing the written petition in his hand to be presented for Heaven to hear.
Qin Shu shifted almost imperceptibly to the side. He listened as Daoist Master Xu sang out the request to invite a deity, then recited Liu Bai Long’s birth date and hour, sex, age, and birthplace, weaving every calamity she had suffered and every contribution she had made into a melody with mysterious cadence. The words resonated with the instruments as Daoist Master Xu conveyed them outward at an unhurried pace.
Qin Shu had no idea what an immortal would think after hearing all that,
but Daoist Master Xu had certainly put his heart into it and genuinely possessed considerable ability. No wonder even the simplest ritual at the Dragon Mother Temple started at a hundred thousand. The man really could get things done.
When the chanting ended, Daoist Master Xu abruptly dropped to his knees on the cushion. He solemnly bowed his head and made a deep ritual salute, eyes tightly closed as he communicated with the upper realm through visualization.
This was another technique Qin Shu could never learn. First, he disliked kowtowing to anyone. Second, if Qin Shu ever did kowtow… the unlucky one would be the deity receiving it.
Important matters really did need to be entrusted to reliable people. Seven-colored light began spreading behind Daoist Master Xu while auspicious clouds and mysterious radiance flowed outward. Everyone held their breath, nobody daring to make a discordant sound at a moment like this. Even Liu Yang Yang’s hand gripping Liu Bai Long’s arm bulged with veins, terrified he might disrupt the deity-invitation process.
As time passed, the brilliance surrounding Daoist Master Xu became increasingly dazzling, until it reached a terrifying intensity that made it almost impossible to keep one’s eyes open.
Qin Shu therefore closed his eyes with practiced ease and spread his gentle divine sense to continue observing. The white-haired old Daoist suddenly opened his eyes, golden light shooting from them. Immediately afterward, as though badly frightened, he slammed his forehead hard toward the floor again. With a bang, the hospital-room tiles shattered in all directions, cracks racing outward like a spiderweb.
It worked! And if the arrival could frighten Daoist Master Xu this badly, it had to be someone extremely important!
Qin Shu could already feel invisible pressure descending from above. There was no malice and it was not suffocating. The existence itself was simply so powerful that every aura inside the room was suppressed to its absolute limit… Liu Bai Long curled into herself, her face bloodlessly pale.
Auspicious clouds churned and colored light intertwined as the deity Daoist Master Xu had invited with all his strength slowly revealed their true form.
Qin Shu could not resist opening his eyes to look. Then, like everyone else, he froze speechless.
He saw a snake tail. An enormous snake tail.