Five Thunder Righteous Method

When Wen Ning heard Wen Zhong call him, he hurried after him.

Wen Zhong walked at an unhurried pace. He led Wen Ning down the corridor, turned two corners, and stopped before a vermilion office door labeled "Heavenly Venerable's Office."

Wen Zhong pushed the door open and went inside.

Wen Ning followed him. The moment he stepped over the threshold, the space inside stunned him.

The office was far larger than it appeared from outside, and vastly bigger than his storefront in the mortal world.

An enormous purple sandalwood desk stood in the center, piled with documents that reached waist height. Behind it sat a broad, traditional armchair.

Wen Zhong did not sit in the armchair. He stopped in front of the desk and turned to face Wen Ning.

There was no one else in the office. Standing before that waist-high pile of documents, Wen Zhong watched Wen Ning in silence for a long while before speaking.

"There was one subject they didn't test during your interview."

Wen Ning froze for a moment.

"What subject?"

"The Five Thunder Righteous Method."

Wen Zhong spoke the name casually, as though he were commenting on the fine weather.

"It's the Thunder Department's signature art. If you're interviewing here, you can't very well be ignorant of your own department's spells."

Wen Ning remembered Lu Ming's earlier, spit-flying explanation.

The Five Thunder Righteous Method was the Thunder Department's closely guarded secret. The celestial generals were desperate to learn it, but Wen Zhong never taught outsiders.

"Godfather, you mean—"

"Stand still."

Wen Zhong raised his right hand, and a point of light appeared on his index finger. It glowed a soft, gentle purple.

Without giving him any time to prepare, Wen Zhong pressed his fingertip directly between Wen Ning's brows.

In that instant, Wen Ning felt as though a bolt of lightning had struck him.

It did not hurt. It was a sensation he had never experienced before.

Countless streams of information poured into his mind like floodwater through an opened gate: the paths of lightning, the circulation of the five elemental energies, the interplay and opposition of heaven and earth's yin and yang. Everything flooded into the depths of his consciousness in a single instant.

Wen Ning drew a sharp breath and realized he had somehow fallen to his knees.

Cold sweat soaked his entire body, but there was a new sensation inside him, something he had never felt before.

Deep in his dantian, a warm current of energy slowly revolved.

He opened his hand. With a thought, a faint thread of lightning leaped from his fingertips, flickered twice between his fingers with a crackle, then vanished at another thought.

"I've planted the methods for using the Five Thunder Righteous Method in your mind."

Wen Zhong withdrew his hand and clasped it behind his back again, his tone as casual as ever.

"What you can use now barely scratches the surface. I've imparted the knowledge directly, but you have no magical power yet. Use it sparingly. Your stamina won't keep up. And stop spending all day on your phone."

Kneeling on the floor, Wen Ning looked up at his godfather. A whole flood of grateful words crowded his throat, but in the end, all he managed was one sentence.

"Godfather, I'll burn an extra stick of incense for you from now on."

Wen Zhong looked down at him, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, then reached out and pulled Wen Ning to his feet.

"Enough of that useless nonsense."

Wen Zhong let go, walked behind the desk, and drew a blank scroll from the pile of documents. He spread it out, wrote a few words, stamped it with his great seal, then rolled it up and handed it to Wen Ning.

"Appointment approval: Thunder Department Celestial Registry, probationary Heavenly Official. Wait for notification of your reporting date."

Wen Ning accepted the scroll and looked down at it. It bore that great vermilion seal, with faint lightning flowing through the inscription: Heavenly Venerable of Universal Transformation, Voice of Thunder, Origin Responding in the Nine Heavens.

"All right. Go home."

Wen Zhong sat down in the armchair, picked up a document, and began reading. He waved without lifting his head.

But Wen Ning remained where he was.

After annotating two lines, Wen Zhong looked up and saw Wen Ning still standing there. His brow creased slightly.

"Anything else?"

"Godfather."

"How do I contact you once I'm back? Before, I didn't know you really existed. Now that I do, I want to..."

What did he want to say? That he wanted to chat whenever he missed him? Talk to the statue as he always had? Or bring more offerings on holidays?

Wen Zhong looked at him for three seconds, then lowered his head and continued annotating his documents.

"I can hear you when you talk to the statue. I could before, and I will in the future. That lousy electric fan of yours is too loud. Replace it."

Wen Ning paused, then broke into a grin.

He tucked the scroll inside his clothes and headed for the door. After two steps, he turned back and called toward Wen Zhong.

"Godfather, I'm off!"

Wen Zhong lifted his pen hand slightly and waved him away as though shooing a mosquito.

The journey back to the mortal world was much simpler than the journey there. The Heavenly Official in blue robes brought him to the edge of a cloud platform.

He said, "Jump down and you'll be there," then kicked Wen Ning straight off before he even had time to get scared.

Wen Ning plunged into the sea of clouds, wind roaring in his ears. The warm swirl of energy inside him held him steady, while the arc of electricity in his palm glimmered faintly, as though guiding his way.

Then his eyes snapped open.

Inside the shabby storefront in the urban village, the wall-mounted electric fan was still wheezing as it swung from side to side.

The incense on the offering table had burned down to its base, and the neat circle of incense ash remained. Outside the window, a pale glow spread across the horizon, and the first rooster crowed in the distance.

Wen Ning sat up on his folding bed and stared blankly for a long while, still unsure whether the previous night had been a dream.

He opened his hand. With a thought, a faint arc of electricity flickered in his palm, gave a sharp crackle, and vanished in the morning light.

That single flicker left Wen Ning's legs a little weak. He felt more exhausted than after a five-kilometer run. It seemed he really would have to use the Five Thunder Righteous Method sparingly for now.

Still, Wen Ning was delighted. Last night had not been a dream.

He felt inside his clothes again, took out the scroll, and unrolled it. The appointment approval was written on it, with that familiar great seal stamped at the end.

At the very bottom was another line of small writing. The ink looked fresher than the rest, as though it had been added later.

"That lousy phone of yours gets no signal in the Heavenly Court. If you need anything, talk to the statue."

Wen Ning stared at that little line for a long time, then carefully rolled up the scroll and tucked it beneath his pillow.

Then he took three sticks of incense from the drawer, lit them with care, and placed them in the incense burner. Smoke curled upward, blurring the statue's features.

He stepped back twice, knelt properly, and kowtowed three times.

His forehead struck the floor with each bow, more solemnly than ever before.

Afterward, Wen Ning stood, brushed the dust from his knees, and took out his phone for a look.

His balance was still 223.70 yuan, his rent was still three months overdue, and his landlord was still coming to change the locks next Monday.

But the way he looked at that 223.70 yuan was different from yesterday.

Just then, Wen Ning's phone suddenly chimed. A message had arrived from an unfamiliar number, a string of digits he had never seen before, beginning with 000. He opened it and saw two lines.

"You have been invited to join the Thunder Department Celestial Registry work group. Note: probationary Heavenly Official Wen Ning. Sent by the Heavenly Court Personnel Department."

Wen Ning took a deep breath and tapped Accept.

The moment the group chat opened, a familiar avatar popped up: two sturdy deer antlers with a golden bell hanging from them.

Lu Ming posted a message in the group, followed by three exclamation marks.

"Wen Ning! You're in the group too! I told you you'd pass!!!"

Wen Ning chuckled and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

Outside, daylight flooded the sky. He raised the roller shutter, and the morning sun fell across the peeling sign above the storefront: Wen Real Estate Agency.

He glanced back at the statue on the offering table. The incense smoke slowly dispersed, veiling those eyes that seemed to hold the hint of a smile.

"Godfather."

He spoke to the statue.

"I'm heading to work now."

The statue gave no answer, but Wen Ning knew Wen Zhong could hear every word he said.