Master, You're Worth a Fortune (Please Vote)

Wang Tiaodeng was dead. Zhang Laifu asked Li Yunsheng how to extract his Craft Essence.

"Every trade has its own way. Mine uses talisman water." Li Yunsheng took a sheet of Talisman Paper, soaked it in clear water, sprinkled the water over Wang Tiaodeng, and began to chant:

"One word of truth calls the soul back; on the narrow road between yin and yang, hear me out. You and I bear no grudge; your body is cold, your heart at peace. Entrust your treasure to my care, and I'll add a measure to your merit in the underworld. Go to the Yellow Springs without sorrow; leave this one thing behind to ease another's troubles.

"Old Wang, leave your treasure to me. I'll burn you plenty of paper ingots and spirit money. I won't shortchange you."

Zhang Laifu said, "Brother Yunsheng, you said the dead couldn't understand your incantations."

"He isn't a departed soul yet. His soul is still inside his body, so he can just about understand me.

"His Craft Essence will go with his soul. If we wait three or five hours for it to leave his body, we'll need someone from a specialized trade to get the Craft Essence."

As he spoke, Wang Tiaodeng's body convulsed. A paper lantern the size of a palm emerged from his forehead.

Small as it was, its shade and frame were neatly made. A short stub of candle sat inside. It wasn't lit, but a faint glow flickered at its tip.

"That's the Craft Essence," Li Yunsheng said. "A valuable thing. I expect you've seen one before, Brother Laifu."

"How much is it worth?"

"There are buyers, but no set price. Plenty of people want Craft Essence, but craftsmen are hard to deal with. You've only just entered the trade, Brother Laifu, yet taking yours would be no easy matter.

"Especially for someone like Wang Tiaodeng, desperate to change trades, a single Craft Essence could drive him to desperate measures. No matter what you offer, there's nowhere to buy one."

"Take it." Zhang Laifu was already a craftsman, so he had no use for the Craft Essence. Besides, he had two more.

Li Yunsheng shook his head repeatedly. "I can't accept a gift this valuable."

"It's not a gift. It's payment for your help. I couldn't have done any of this without you."

"I hardly helped. I owe you my life. I should repay that debt."

"Friendship is friendship, business is business. Keep arguing and we'll be at it all night."

Zhang Laifu insisted, and Li Yunsheng accepted the Craft Essence. "It's cool in the shade of a big tree. That fortune was right after all."

"And you can have the remaining three hundred Silver Dollars."

"No! You've already paid me. I absolutely can't take them."

"Then we'll split them. Call it a business deal we did together."

Li Yunsheng couldn't argue Zhang Laifu out of it, so they divided the Silver Dollars.

After his recent expenses, Zhang Laifu now had three hundred and sixty-one Silver Dollars, plus more than two hundred copper coins. That was equivalent to two or three years' income for an errand boy.

Once the money was divided, a bowl and a chest of books remained.

The books were clearly Zhang Laifu's. Li Yunsheng refused to take the bowl, so that went to Zhang Laifu too.

"Brother Yunsheng, could you tell me what quality this bowl is?"

Li Yunsheng set the oil lamp on the table and studied the bowl for a moment. "Bowl Appraisal is a demanding skill. Everyone has a different method."

Zhang Laifu understood at once. "You're worried I'll steal your technique? Then I won't watch!"

"You can watch. Most people couldn't learn my method anyway. Some appraise a bowl by its craftsmanship, some trace its origins, some examine its Animus, and some study its materials. I'm different from all of them. I appraise bowls by testing my luck!"

With that, Li Yunsheng took out eight copper coins and tossed them beside the bowl. Six landed faceup!

Li Yunsheng gave a thumbs-up and nodded. "A fine bowl!"

Zhang Laifu stared for a moment, then nodded too. "Fine!"

After a silence, Li Yunsheng said quietly, "Brother Laifu, I'm not very good at appraising bowls. Keep it for now. If Wang Tiaodeng had his eye on it, it ought to be something valuable."

After putting away the bowl, Zhang Laifu took out the jar of paste.

As Wang Tiaodeng died, he had kept trying to fling the paste onto Zhang Laifu, but Zhang Laifu had snatched the jar from him.

Zhang Laifu opened the lid and examined the paste for a long while. He saw nothing unusual.

Li Yunsheng dipped a brush into the paste and studied it closely. "Brother Laifu, I think this is Veiling Incense."

Zhang Laifu didn't understand, so Li Yunsheng explained, "It's like the incense I use. Mine can conceal things from sight and hearing. I can't tell you what this paste does yet. Keep it safe, though. It's certainly no ordinary stuff."

Zhang Laifu put the paste away and searched Wang Tiaodeng's room again. Wang had stocked it with materials for making lanterns. His signature skill required him to make one on the spot, so he always kept the materials close.

Zhang Laifu took those materials too, but found nothing else of use.

Li Yunsheng sprinkled some Potion over Wang Tiaodeng's corpse. Zhang Laifu expected it to smoke and dissolve into pus and blood. Instead, it rapidly dried out.

Not a drop of water or oil remained. Wang Tiaodeng's corpse lay on the bed, seemingly intact. Li Yunsheng took out a folding fan and waved it gently. The entire body crumbled into dust and drifted into the air.

Once everything was taken care of, Li Yunsheng asked Zhang Laifu what he planned to do next.

Zhang Laifu hesitated. Truth be told, he rather liked the Old Bright Lantern Shop.

Li Yunsheng warned him, "Wang Tiaodeng is dead. The Paper Lantern Trade's Trade Guild won't let this go. If they come here, Old Liang may not be able to hold them off.

"Once word gets out, the news will spread. Whether the Patrolmen come or the mountain bandits do, neither will be good for you, Brother Laifu."

Zhang Laifu also thought Old Liang was unreliable. "I'll see how things go. If I have to, I'll leave Heishakou."

Li Yunsheng thought it over for a long time. "Brother Laifu, if you want to leave Heishakou, I'm afraid you'll have to get past Hunlong Stronghold. Neither the water routes nor the roads will be easy."

"I know it won't be easy, but I'm a craftsman. Ordinary lackeys can't stop me, and I can get away if I run into a real fighter."

Li Yunsheng considered this for a moment. "Let me find out what I can. Come to Pearl Street tomorrow afternoon and look for me."

They cleaned up the blood and cleared away the clutter. As they left the room together, they saw Chen Xiaowang standing in the courtyard, rubbing his eyes.

"Brother Laifu, what are you..." Xiaowang had gotten up to use the privy. He hadn't expected to run into Zhang Laifu.

Zhang Laifu took out two Silver Dollars and pressed them into Chen Xiaowang's hand. "I just went to the privy. You didn't see me tonight."

Chen Xiaowang still didn't understand what Zhang Laifu meant. Li Yunsheng took out a bean and pushed it into Chen Xiaowang's nostril. "Sleepy Bug, Sleepy Bug, one little bug brings sweet dreams."

Xiaowang grew terribly sleepy. He went to the privy, stumbled back to his room, and fell face-first onto the bed, fast asleep.

Old Liang was awake. He could hear what was happening in the courtyard, but he didn't dare make a sound.

Zhang Laifu walked Li Yunsheng out to the street. Candle Oil Road looked different tonight. The road was unusually clean; even the ash pits along its edges had been tidied.

Zhang Laifu found it odd. "Cleaning in the middle of the night? Why are they so diligent today?"

Li Yunsheng remembered something. "People have been saying the Marshal is coming. Looks like he really will arrive tomorrow."

"Which Marshal?"

Li Yunsheng's face lit up. "Marshal Qiao, the Southern Marshal. Heishakou is his territory. Since he's coming, that lot from Hunlong Stronghold probably won't dare show their faces in town. However brazen they are, they won't dare run wild in front of a marshal who rules the region.

"This could be a good chance to leave Heishakou. Brother Laifu, wait for word from me tomorrow!"