Ghostly Divine Art

Seeing that the two of them were unharmed, Liu Xiaolou felt greatly relieved. Smiling, he said, "My disciples were in trouble. As the Sect Leader, how could I not come?"

Lord Xingde rolled his eyes. "What disciples of yours? If we're being precise, I'm the Supreme Sect Leader!"

Once the jokes were over, Liu Xiaolou briefly explained the situation outside. "The Zhou Family is conducting a mountain-wide manhunt, with Qingyu Sect experts leading it. These two happened to be harboring sinister intentions, so I followed them in. If they hadn't thrown their weight around on account of Tianmu Mountain, I truly wouldn't have been able to get inside."

The burial chamber was rather dim. Only then did Seventh Mistress Zhou clearly make out the person on the ground, and she cried softly, "Second Young Master Lu!"

"A member of the Lu Family?" Lord Xingde asked.

"The younger brother of Lu Yuanlang, who ranks third among Tianmu Mountain's inner disciples. He often comes to my family at Dongting Lake."

Lord Xingde frowned. "What does this bastard... go to your home for?"

Seventh Mistress Zhou shot him a glare. "He has taken a fancy to Ninth Mistress. Whenever Ninth Mistress comes, he rushes over the moment he hears the news."

Lord Xingde breathed a sigh of relief. "He's no good either. Su Jiuniang? Is he worthy of her?"

Liu Xiaolou hurriedly asked what they planned to do. Lord Xingde said, "This place is well hidden. Seventh Mistress and I intend to stay here a few more days. Once they can't find us, they'll naturally leave."

Liu Xiaolou shook his head hard. "Do you know why the Zhou Family and Qingyu Sect came straight to Taoyuan? I heard Second Young Master Lu and this Steward Zhang say that Qingyu Sect has a Ghostly Divine Art..."

Before he could finish, Seventh Mistress Zhou let out an "Ah!" She fumbled about, removing the hairpins, necklaces, bracelets, and other ornaments from her head, neck, and wrists. Then she opened the boxes in her bundle and poured their contents out, blaming herself without pause. "It's all my fault, all my fault... I completely forgot about this... This... which one could it be hidden in..."

As she frantically searched, she grew so anxious that she was nearly in tears.

"Seventh Aunt, don't panic," Liu Xiaolou said. "This art can only sense a general area. Otherwise, after they surrounded the mountain for a day, they would have found this place long ago. And I reckon this tomb lies quite deep, which should weaken the detection to some extent. We're safe for now. Senior, Qingyu Sect has an art called Ghostly Divine Art. They must have placed something inside one of Seventh Aunt's belongings..."

With that simple explanation, Lord Xingde understood at once. "What kind of thing? How did they put it there?"

"A phantom ghost," Seventh Mistress Zhou said. "Quick, help me search with true essence..."

Liu Xiaolou joined in and busied himself for a while. They found nothing unusual among the jeweled ornaments. He then looked at Seventh Mistress Zhou herself and pointed toward her at Lord Xingde. "Senior..."

Lord Xingde slapped his forehead. "Her clothes!"

Seventh Mistress Zhou pointed outside. "You two, get out first."

Lord Xingde and Liu Xiaolou left the burial chamber and waited in the passage outside. After a short while, they heard Seventh Mistress Zhou curse from within, "Damn it!"

Lord Xingde rushed in first, with Liu Xiaolou right behind him, but Lord Xingde shoved him back out. "Don't come in!"

"Ah..." Liu Xiaolou understood. He could only continue waiting outside. Just as his waiting became unbearable, Lord Xingde finally came out and called to him, "It's done."

Returning to the burial chamber, Lord Xingde shook his head. "Truly damned. It was in her underclothes... Seventh Mistress, that maid of yours, Ping'er, must have done it. I told you long ago that she couldn't be trusted!"

Seventh Mistress Zhou's face flushed crimson. "What are you talking about?"

"Am I wrong?" Lord Xingde said indignantly. "Why had we never been discovered all those years? Why were we discovered less than a year after that girl came to your side?"

Seventh Mistress Zhou stamped her foot. "That's not..."

Liu Xiaolou cut them off. "Enough, enough. Let's not talk about that now. It's good that we found it. Throw it into the coffin, and getting out will be much easier."

"That still won't work," Seventh Mistress Zhou said. "Xiaolou, didn't you say Qingyu Sect people were here too? If we go out, they may use the Form Snatching Art."

"They already have," Liu Xiaolou said. "And there's also the Mountain God Manifestation."

Lord Xingde was bewildered again. "I know what the Mountain God Manifestation is, but what is the Form Snatching Art?"

Seventh Mistress Zhou explained it all again. Lord Xingde said gloomily, "You Qingyu Sect people have so many underhanded tricks... What are we supposed to do now?"

Liu Xiaolou was even more speechless. "Senior, Seventh Aunt, I thought after three months of preparation, you would have covered all your bases. Did you elope without understanding anything at all? Forget it. We already have a solution for the Form Snatching Art. Steward Zhang has a jade token that can conceal one's form. We only need to avoid that manifested Mountain God on the mountaintop."

He took the jade pendant from Steward Zhang and removed the Lu Family token of Tianmu Mountain from Second Young Master Lu's waist. Then Liu Xiaolou urged Lord Xingde and Seventh Mistress Zhou to change clothes. Lord Xingde put on Steward Zhang's clothes, while Seventh Mistress Zhou tore off Second Young Master Lu's long robe and draped it over herself. She undid her hair, arranged it anew, and completed a simple, rough disguise.

They still did not look much alike, but fortunately it was nighttime, so there was no need to worry too much.

They found three spirit stones and twenty or thirty taels of loose silver on Steward Zhang. Second Young Master Lu, meanwhile, did not have a single coin on him. Liu Xiaolou scorned him for it, then unsealed their mute points and interrogated them on the spot. "Where did you bury the spirit stones and silver?"

Second Young Master Lu wore a miserable expression. "I never carry spirit stones or silver when I go out, but there's plenty at home. Younger Brother Liu, spare my life. I'll return to the mountain and fetch it for you. Rest assured, twenty spirit stones! Three thousand taels of silver! No, thirty spirit stones and five thousand taels of silver!"

Steward Zhang was much tougher. He merely cursed Liu Xiaolou viciously, telling that thief Liu to wait, that one day this and that would happen. Liu Xiaolou slapped him several times until his mouth was full of blood and broken teeth, and the filthy things he said could no longer be heard clearly.

Liu Xiaolou was deeply disappointed. Yet this was no time to delay, so he could only leave it at that.

Seventh Mistress Zhou looked hesitantly at Second Young Master Lu and asked Lord Xingde, "We're just leaving him here?"

Seeing her softheartedness, Lord Xingde said, "In any case, we can't release them now... Perhaps in a day or two, your family will be able to find this place."

Seventh Mistress Zhou sighed and could only follow Lord Xingde out.

Liu Xiaolou was the last to leave. He picked up Second Young Master Lu and Steward Zhang and threw them both into the coffin. He tapped each of their life gates with a finger. The two stared at Liu Xiaolou with wide eyes, unable to utter a single cry. Their gazes gradually dimmed, like dead fish.

Liu Xiaolou had no time to look further. He shut the coffin lid again and left the tomb.

It was now the darkest hour before dawn. The jade pendant gave off faint magic power, nullifying the Form Snatching Art and shielding the three as they left the valley.

They could not take the main road into the valley, since people there recognized Second Young Master Lu. Thus, the three chose a smaller trail out, keeping watch on the enormous manifested Mountain God atop the mountain as they skirted around through the blind spots of its gaze.

Lord Xingde knew the mountain paths even better than Liu Xiaolou. Before they knew it, they had circled out along a small northwestern trail. The Lu Family identity token never even came into use, and they escaped the Taoyuan Mountain Range, slipping free from the blockade of Qingyu Sect and the Zhou Family.

Lord Xingde and Seventh Mistress Zhou planned to flee to the Bashu region. It lay far from Jingxiang, beyond Qingyu Sect's reach, and was an ideal place to hide.

Liu Xiaolou stuffed the three spirit stones, the silver, and a sheet of yellow paper into Lord Xingde's hands. "This journey is several thousand li. Every extra spirit stone and every extra tael of silver will be useful. Oh, and this is a secret art of my Three Xuan Sect. Senior, you must cultivate it. It will be good for your body."

Lord Xingde did not stand on ceremony. "Then I'll accept it."

The two sides waved farewell. Liu Xiaolou watched their figures vanish into the night, and joy suddenly welled up in his heart, along with an indescribable sense of exhilaration.