The Price of a Life

The qin rang clear and bright.

At the Li family home, the tutor who had earlier listened to one of the young masters play with a pained expression softened his face. The moment the blue-robed youth began to play, his music opened up with a grandeur utterly unlike anything worldly. The expressions of the others in the room changed, too. The young men fell silent, while the elders stopped talking; some listened solemnly, others closed their eyes and gently swayed their heads.

The blue-robed youth sat upright, playing the qin with his eyes lowered in quiet concentration. The music flowed and lingered.

The young men shut their eyes, as if already seeing themselves succeeding in the imperial examinations, triumphant and fulfilled.

The old men were overcome with sorrow, as though they were seeing the myriad aspects of the world and recalling the setbacks they had endured.

Li Yixian remembered all that had happened to him in the Capital City, and for a time, he sat entranced.

The room was immersed in the music, while outside, the Taoist priest could only stand there, unable to decide whether to step inside or turn away. His unruly eyebrows had knotted together. He had only meant to come and "buy a little" Yang Longevity, but he had never expected that among the family he had chosen, there would be such an expert.

He thought it over, then raised a hand and slapped the back of his head.

He opened his mouth and spat out a gust of black wind, shrouding the entire Li family home.

Then one ghost after another emerged from the Netherworld. They all wore dark yellow clothes. Their bodies were clear from the waist up, but their faces were blurred; from the waist down, they were completely transparent. Some carried chains, others held swords or knives. They were about to rush in as one, their original natures already obscured.

The Taoist priest raised a hand and pointed ahead. "Go. Bring back the souls inside that house!"

"Whoever brings back a soul, I'll erase your name and release you back into heaven and earth, so you can go to the Netherworld and seek Yin Longevity."

"Even if you can't keep living, at least you won't be driven around anymore."

The ghosts stirred up a gust of gloomy wind and rushed toward the courtyard. The wind howled through the place. Any ordinary person who entered would feel a chill crawl down their spine, their whole body stiffening as their Yang energy was forced back. But as soon as the ghosts stepped into the courtyard, their movements began to grow sluggish.

After ten steps, their Killing Intent had already scattered.

They advanced another hundred and twenty steps.

The music reached their ears.

Listening to the qin was like passing through my entire life.

It held the feeling of the Yellow Millet Dream, a dream and yet not a dream. Qi WuHuo unconsciously urged it along with his Primordial Spirit, making its effect even stronger on the ghosts. Their blurred faces gradually took shape: some became beautiful women, others burly, rugged men; there were old men, too, each different from the next. It seemed the Primordial Spirit and artistic conception within the music had awakened the spiritual nature obscured by spells and divine powers.

The Taoist priest's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly swept his sleeve.

The sleeve's opening twisted and turned, seeming to become a great sack. The black wind reversed, dragging all ten-odd ghosts back inside. The Taoist priest stroked his goatee, his eyes twitching. "He nearly used nothing but a qin to transcend all ten of my ghosts. Is he from the Buddhist path or the Daoist path?"

"Such a powerful Primordial Spirit, and such insight."

"He's been through the world!"

"Could a True Person from some sect be here?"

"Which lineage has such methods?"

"Is it the Fangxian Dao? Or the Louguan Dao?"

"Theravada Buddhism, which saves me before saving others?"

"Surely there aren't really ghost officials having tea here? Good heavens—"

The Taoist priest paced back and forth, then gritted his teeth. "Never mind. If I can't get my Yin Longevity back, I won't live much longer either. If I'm going to die regardless, then whoever's True Person is here, I'll meet them first and worry about the rest afterward." He immediately formed a hand seal and concealed himself, then walked a few steps forward. When he looked back, he saw the hem of his robe still sticking out, not concealed at all, hanging in midair.

The Taoist priest shook his head and mocked himself. "Ha, I'm already a hundred and thirty, and still a coward."

"I don't even know if he's really a True Person."

"And I'm so scared I can't even use my spell properly."

Cultivation...

He reached out with his right hand, grabbed the hem, and gave it a few hard tugs.

To any bystander, it would have looked as if the cloth hanging in midair had shuddered a few times, then stretched taut before suddenly being yanked somewhere else and vanishing. The Taoist priest had pulled too hard and stumbled forward a few steps. Once he regained his balance, he let go of the hem, clapped his hands, and laughed triumphantly. "Ah, success!"

Then he raised his hands to straighten his clothes and adjust his cuffs.

He really did look like a wandering Taoist priest.

He strode inside as if he owned the place.

He crossed the stone screen and the narrow passage. People came and went, but none saw or heard him. He even took a pastry from the table of a chef cooking nearby. Only when he reached the front of the main hall did he grow nervous. He straightened his clothes, tapped his right hand against his sleeve, and a point of light flew out. It grew larger and larger, eventually turning into a calling card, which he held out in both hands.

On it, rows of text were written in tadpole script and cloud patterns.

[Your humble servant, Minor Omen True Person, respectfully addresses the Supreme Dao Lord of the Nine Heavens, the Supreme Elder, the Great God of the Nine Immortal Cities, the Elder of the Nine Qi, and the True Lords of the Three Sovereigns...]

This was the origin of his lineage. His teachings could not truly have descended from these great immortals; they had merely been traced back and forcibly connected to them. When a lineage was passed down, three of these jade slips were made: one kept by the sect, one carried by the disciple, and one burned to smoke and reported to Heaven.

With utmost respect, he walked forward and said,

"May I ask where you are from, senior True Person? This humble Taoist..."

His voice and expression were both exceedingly respectful and deferential.

He lifted his head and saw Qi WuHuo playing the qin.

The smile the Taoist had forced onto his face froze at once. His eyes widened as if someone had punched him hard. His expression crumpled, shifting from frozen humility to arrogance, and even his hunched back straightened in an instant. His whole bearing changed. "So..."

He looked at the youth and sneered. "You're just a crooked practitioner of the Left Path who 'cultivates nature but not life'!"

"Your Primordial Spirit is merely powerful, that's all. Hmph, I thought you actually had some real ability!"

"You scared me half to death."

He swept his sleeve, dispelling the invisibility spell.

Li YueLin had been lost in Qi WuHuo's music, remembering the triumphant ambition of his youth and the many twists and turns of his middle years. Just as he was caught up in his memories, he suddenly saw a Taoist priest standing in the main hall of his own home. The man wore a tattered Taoist robe, his hair was white, and his wooden hairpin was caked in grease. He looked filthy and disheveled. Li YueLin's heart gave a sudden thump.

He instinctively looked toward his younger brother.

Li Yixian had already fallen backward onto the ground. Seeing the Taoist, his face turned deathly pale. "You, you!"

The Taoist smiled and cupped his hands. "You accepted my gold back then."

"I've come to collect what's owed."

Li Yixian stammered, "But didn't I already give you that 'goods'?"

The Taoist smiled. "That was already paid."

"But the money I gave you belonged to the Underworld."

"You took money from the ghost officials."

"And spent quite a bit of it yourself."

"Didn't you know? Ten taels of gold bought one year of your Yang Longevity. Your allotted lifespan is fifty years, and you're thirty-five this year. Those hundred and fifty taels of gold are the money that bought your life."

A chill crept over Li Yixian's back. His hands and feet turned cold, and he couldn't move.

Li YueLin suddenly said, "Wait. The money hasn't been spent. It's still here."

The Taoist raised his eyes. "Oh?"

Li YueLin took out a bag, rose to his feet, and cupped his hands. "This is your gold."

"I added thirty taels as a gift for you, Taoist. Please be generous and spare my brother."

Li Yixian froze. "Elder brother..."

The Taoist burst out laughing. "How touching, such brotherly affection. Good, good."

"But first, take a look at what you've brought out."

Li YueLin froze. He seemed to realize something and hurriedly opened the bag. The gold he had prepared had somehow turned into a bag of soybeans. He lifted it and poured them onto the ground, where they clattered and bounced. The Taoist reached into his robe and took out a bag of gold, smiling at him.

Li YueLin blurted out, "That's... my gold."

Then he immediately fell silent, forcing a smile. "No, it seems you've already accepted it, Taoist."

The Taoist roared with laughter.

"Your gold? I found this on the ground. Who said it was yours?"

"You!"

Li YueLin pleaded, "Taoist... please be generous and spare my brother. If you do, I'll agree to anything."

The Taoist stroked his beard. "Spare him? That's not impossible."

Hope appeared on the faces of Li Yixian and Li YueLin.

The Taoist raised a hand and pointed straight at the youth who had stopped playing the qin. "Hand over his soul and Primordial Spirit!"

"That alone can buy your brother's life."

"And I can give you both a great reward besides."

"How about it?!"

Li YueLin and Li Yixian's expressions changed drastically.

Li Puyü cried out, "Th-that's impossible!"

The Taoist smiled. "Otherwise, Li Yixian can come with me."

Li Yixian's face went blank with despair. A look of struggle crossed it, then at last he closed his eyes and sighed.

"I shouldn't have been greedy. That child has nothing to do with this. Take me with you."

The Taoist chuckled, but his gaze remained fixed on Qi WuHuo.

Qi WuHuo held down the strings and suddenly said, "I agree."

He raised his head and looked at the elderly Taoist, his eyes dark and deep. He said,

"But I'm curious. How are you going to take my Primordial Spirit?"

"I haven't been cultivating for long, and I've never seen a method like that."

"Could you come a little closer, so I can see it with my own eyes?"

The elderly Taoist burst out laughing. "Clever boy! But the only thing you're any good at is the little bit of spirit-nurturing you've cultivated."

"Since a dying man has asked, I'm not so petty as to refuse."

"Come, and I'll show you my divine power, so you can die knowing the truth."

With that, he strode forward, haughty and arrogant.

"I'm giving you your chance!"

"Come, look!"