How Many Pieces Do You Think There Are Now?

The Old Helmsman asked Old Yu what time it was. Old Yu had no mind to guess. While the Old Helmsman was talking, he hurriedly changed the Talisman Paper, balanced it on his sword, and prepared to strike.

The Talisman Paper had barely caught fire when the flame suddenly went out.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A burst of knocking came from the front courtyard.

Xiaozhuzi did not know who had arrived and glanced back.

Old Yu shouted, "Don't look back! Hurry up and kill Zhang Laifu! Nobody's knocking outside. That old ghost is slapping his belly!"

Xiaozhuzi did not understand. If the old ghost was slapping his belly in the courtyard, why did the sound come from outside the gate?

Old Yu understood. "That old man's a Drum Skinner. Run!"

Drum Skinners were artisans who specialized in making great drums. They excelled at choosing materials, shaping shells, stretching skins, and tuning, and their mastery over sound was exquisite.

Old Yu realized something was wrong and turned to flee. The Old Helmsman tapped his right shoulder with his left hand. With a muffled thump, Old Yu fell to the ground, blood pouring from his mouth.

The Drum Skinner's signature skill: One-Stroke Sounding.

Old Yu was a Craftsman, but that single blow left him gravely wounded. The gulf between their levels was too great.

Xiaozhuzi tugged at his thread, still hoping to take Zhang Laifu with him. The Old Helmsman cocked his head, listened for his position, then turned toward Xiaozhuzi. "Well, would you look at that. A tailor, too."

He had heard the sound of a needle drawing thread.

Xiaozhuzi still had not grasped what was happening. Another muffled thump sounded beside his ear. He shuddered, and his chest burst apart.

His organs scattered across the ground. Xiaozhuzi looked at Zhang Laifu.

Zhang Laifu kicked Xiaozhuzi, and he toppled at Zhang Laifu's feet.

Zhang Laifu had heard both thumps, yet he was completely unharmed.

The Old Helmsman had distinguished friend from foe by ear and kept the drumbeats from hurting Zhang Laifu.

Just moments ago, the Old Helmsman could not hear. How could he hear now?

Zhang Laifu noticed the Alarm Clock in the Old Helmsman's hand. It had stopped. Its minute and second hands both pointed to twelve, while its hour hand pointed to two.

The Old Helmsman walked toward Old Yu. "It's two o'clock now. Did you guess right?"

Old Yu looked at the Alarm Clock in the Old Helmsman's hand, unsure what use it served.

The Old Helmsman smiled. "You're in for a world of pain. Did you know that?"

Old Yu struggled to his feet and tossed a bell into the air.

Catching ghosts was a Celestial Master's trade, and Old Yu had plenty of tricks. The bell swayed in midair. Ordinary people heard nothing unusual, but its sound would stun Departed Souls and leave them unable to move for a short time.

But the Old Helmsman was unaffected. He slapped his own forehead. The sharp crack shattered the bell in midair, and Old Yu's left leg burst apart with it.

Old Yu fell again.

This time, Old Yu fell into despair.

How was this possible? After weathering so many storms in his life, how could he suffer such a crushing defeat over Zhang Laifu?

He was a fool!

Was he going to lose his life here, all for a fool?

Old Helmsman came closer and asked Old Yu, "What rank of Celestial Master are you?"

Old Yu gritted his teeth. "I'm about to become a Master Craftsman."

Old Helmsman laughed. "So you're still just a Registered Hand? Back when I was alive, someone like you wouldn't have lasted a single exchange against me. Did you eat a bear's heart and a leopard's gall, coming here to challenge me?"

Old Yu lowered his head and said nothing. His right hand kept feeling across the ground.

There were markings here. A Celestial Master had visited this place before, one of considerable rank. He had worked out a calculation here, but only finished a little over eighty percent of it.

What had that Celestial Master been calculating?

Old Yu's skills were not especially advanced. He was not yet a Master Craftsman, and his swordwork and talismans were nothing remarkable. But his talent for calculation was first-rate.

He wrote and sketched on the ground, picking up where the previous Celestial Master's markings left off. In that brief span, he calculated the remaining portion.

He had calculated the location of something good!

How big was it?

Old Yu calculated carefully.

Not very big. He should be able to lift it.

How deep was it buried?

Old Yu calculated again.

Not too deep, either. He could definitely reach it.

This was his chance to turn defeat into victory!

Without betraying his intentions, Old Yu dipped a finger in his own blood and began drawing a Talisman on the ground.

Before he could finish the Talisman, he heard Old Helmsman ask, "Who sent you?"

Old Yu kept drawing as he answered. "I'm a Torchbearer from Hunlong Stronghold on Fangpai Mountain. The Stronghold Chief ordered me here to catch a Fool."

Old Helmsman asked, "The Fool is Zhang Laifu?"

Old Yu nodded. "That's him. That bastard killed our brothers. I have to kill him. Every grievance has its culprit, every debt its debtor. We're after him, not anyone else."

Just stall a little longer.

Once the talisman was finished, he could reach the thing beneath the ground.

Once he finished the Talisman, Old Yu could subdue Old Helmsman. Even with the vast difference in their levels, he was confident.

Then he could capture Zhang Laifu and this old ghost besides. If he took such a powerful Departed Soul back and planted it in the Bowl, he would surely grow something good.

Old Helmsman nodded. "All right. Now I know."

Old Yu froze. "Is there anything else you want to know?"

"No."

Boom!

Old Helmsman slapped his chest. Amid the deep, powerful drumbeat, Old Yu exploded into a spray of flesh and blood.

"So Zhang Laifu escaped from Fangpai Mountain. The boy's got some ability!" Old Helmsman said approvingly. Then he asked, "Laifu, I'm praising you. Did you hear me?"

Zhang Laifu had already run to the rear courtyard and was opening the back gate when Old Helmsman blocked his way. "Laifu, I was just praising you. Where are you going?"

Zhang Laifu snatched up the Door Bar and roared, "I'm getting a weapon to fight them!"

"Good boy. No need to fight them now. Come with me."

Old Helmsman led Zhang Laifu to the main courtyard and looked at the two bodies on the ground.

"Laifu, tell me the truth. Who were they? Why did they come after you?"

Zhang Laifu did not dare lie now. With Old Helmsman able to hear, it was best to tell the truth.

"They're bandits from Fangpai Mountain. I'm a Fool they captured."

"You have no craft and no Fierce Artifact. How did you escape from Fangpai Mountain?"

"There was a man with a craft who couldn't walk well. I carried him out. I did the running, and he did the killing."

Old Helmsman took a Top Hat from his coat. "So you picked up this Bowl on Fangpai Mountain?"

"Yeah!"

"You've got guts and luck, boy!" Convinced Zhang Laifu was telling the truth, Old Helmsman asked no more. He had plenty else to do.

He stood in the middle of the courtyard and clapped his hands together again and again.

His claps were so deep and muffled that they made Zhang Laifu's chest tingle.

In less than a minute, a palm-sized Peachwood Sword appeared atop Old Yu's remains. a Thread Ball appeared atop Xiaozhuzi's, with two needles stuck in it.

Old Helmsman ordered, "Bring those over."

Zhang Laifu went to Xiaozhuzi's remains first and picked up the Thread Ball and his money pouch.

This had to be Craft Essence. It was rather like the wad of cotton from Old Liang's body.

It was good seed. Planting it in the Bowl would yield a Craft Spirit, which would let him become a Craftsman.

Zhang Laifu could almost see the Craft Spirit.

As he passed Old Yu's remains, Zhang Laifu picked up the Peachwood Sword and money pouch, then carefully counted the pieces of his body.

Old Yu, that's a lot more than eighteen pieces. There must be fifty or sixty at least.

Your money pouch is bigger than Xiaozhuzi's. I'll hold on to it for you. And what's this over here...

Zhang Laifu spotted a symbol written in blood.

Was it a symbol or a word?

Its left side looked a little like the character for bone. He could make nothing of the right.

Zhang Laifu did not recognize it, but the handwriting seemed familiar. It resembled the writing on Li Yunsheng's Talisman Paper.

Was this a mark Old Yu had left behind?

Zhang Laifu remembered Lin Shaocong's warning: marks were dangerous and had to be cleaned away completely.

He memorized the mark, then rubbed it away with his foot until nothing remained. After that, he handed the Thread Ball and the Peachwood Sword to the Old Helmsman.

The Old Helmsman asked, "Do you know what these are?"

Zhang Laifu thought for a moment. "I'd guess they're Craft Essence."

"Smart!" the Old Helmsman said with a smile. "Laifu, you were given the right name. You're a lucky man.

"You have a Bowl, and a good one at that. Now you have Craft Essence, too. Put the Craft Essence in the Bowl and you can grow a Craft Spirit. Eat the Craft Spirit, and you'll become a Craftsman."

Zhang Laifu hurriedly thanked him. "I owe it all to your guidance, sir."

The Old Helmsman nodded. "Don't thank me yet. Where's the tobacco? You bought it, didn't you?"

"No..." Zhang Laifu shook his head.

"No?" The Old Helmsman's smile vanished. "Laifu, you may be lucky, but you're not much use!"

P.S. Thanks to the alliance leader, Chuunibyou Youth Chasing the Deer, for sticking with me all these years. Let's share in Laifu's good fortune.