Aunt Tang saw the troubled look on my face and asked,
"Worried about Old Song?"
I nodded.
"Yes, Aunt Tang. Master has been gone for more than ten days already. There's still no news..."
Aunt Tang nodded as well, but then said,
"Still, don't worry too much. Before I came, I lit Old Song's soul lamp. It was burning brightly.
Even though we can't contact him, he must be fine."
At those words, a trace of surprise appeared in my eyes.
A "soul lamp" was also called a "life lamp."
It was an oil lamp that could only be lit if one knew the person's exact birth date and Eight Characters.
The most common example was the oil lamp lit beside a coffin during a wake.
For the dead, the oil lamp's flame would burn clear and sharp, its outer tip carrying a green glow.
For the living, the flame would burn bright red, its outer tip glowing red as well. The size of the soul lamp's flame could also reveal a person's current condition.
If someone was near death, the flame would become very small and might even go out intermittently.
Yet Aunt Tang could light Master's soul lamp. Their closeness shocked me.
Even as his disciple, I didn't know Master's precise Eight Characters. I only knew that his fate contained Heavenly Pardon at mid-day, making his destiny exceptionally unyielding.
I also knew the "birthday Eight Characters" Master used when celebrating his birthday, but those were only for birthdays.
After all, Eight Characters were far too important in our line of work.
But Aunt Tang knew them. It was clear that Master had entrusted even his life and death to her.
Their relationship far exceeded anything I had expected or imagined.
After my brief shock and doubt, I felt