In the end, the madam had not dared kill Master Ming. After stripping him of his valuable clothes, she locked him in the stable and starved him for another day. That night, she had her brothel lackeys and hired thugs take advantage of the darkness to dump the barely conscious Master Ming at the Mass Burial Ground outside town.
In the dead of night, no one noticed the frail figure quietly following them.
Once all was still, Lü Bufan watched the cursing thugs disappear into the distance, then crept over. First he examined the figure on the ground from afar by moonlight, then slowly approached and crouched beside Master Ming.
Gathering his courage, Lü Bufan felt Master Ming's wrist. It was ice-cold.
Lü Bufan shuddered inwardly, but murmured, "Master Ming, I haven't forgotten your kindness! If it hadn't been for you, they'd have beaten me to death last month when that head lackey accused me of stealing the madam's silver... What a shame. Yesterday I met a strange white-haired old man who wouldn't even show his face. He asked me to pass a message on to you... But I never got a chance to see you yesterday... Today I'll help you rest in peace..."
At some point, Master Ming, whose entire body lay cold on the ground, had actually woken. He slowly opened his clouded eyes and stared blankly into the pitch-black sky.
Suddenly, Master Ming asked hoarsely, "What message did he give you?"
"He said... Fuck you! He'll undo that heart curse of yours. You're to go back to the village and squat there in his place, or else get as far away as you can... Master Ming... Fucking hell! You're not dead?"
Lü Bufan was so frightened he nearly wet himself and landed on his backside in the mud.
A flicker of helpless pain seemed to cross Master Ming's numb face. He asked quietly, "Just that? Nothing else?"
Lü Bufan swallowed and stammered, "N-no, nothing!"
"Good-for-nothing! Good-for-nothing!"
Lü Bufan reached out and helped Master Ming up. The old man wore only a short tunic and went barefoot, his body covered in wounds too horrible to look at.
With a sigh, Lü Bufan helped Master Ming sit on the rock where the white-haired old man had sat yesterday. After a moment's thought, he asked softly, "Master Ming..."
"Don't ask. Don't say anything."
"Oh!"
"Why did you save me? I haven't got any money left."
"You saved me once, Master Ming. It's only right! A person ought to repay kindness..."
"A person? What kind of world do we live in now? Immortals on the mountains, grandees in the cities, and country folk who can barely fill their bellies! Everyone under heaven is itching to become a dog for the immortal sects or the court... Yet a little brothel lackey like you still wants to be a person? Running out in the middle of the night-the madam is bound to guess you came to save me! Aren't you afraid she'll beat you to death? Giving up your little lackey job?"
"I'm not a brothel lackey! And I don't want to be one!"
"You look well suited to it. It'd be a shame to quit."
... In the dead of night, Lü Bufan supported the trembling Master Ming as they felt their way through the darkness to a low-built alley on the eastern side of town. Familiar with the way, he opened a ramshackle brushwood gate and knocked on the wooden door of a pair of shabby thatched rooms.
"Who is it? At this hour!"
"It's me! Bufan!"
With a creak, Liuzi hurriedly pulled the door open and ran out, barefoot with clothes draped over his shoulders. "What happened? Is that madam trying to hurt you? Did you sneak out?"
A while later, Lü Bufan and Liuzi stared at each other while Master Ming lay snoring on Liuzi's straw bed.
Liuzi scratched the back of his head and sucked his teeth. "You just ran out like that? To save this old man who visits whores without paying? What about the madam? She's bound to notice you slipped out after him. Think she'll spare you if you go back now? A savage beating would be getting off lightly!"
Lü Bufan sighed and glanced at the soundly sleeping old man... "Forget it. Master Ming's eyes are damaged. If he stays in Huqi Town, that madam will surely try to hurt him again. I don't want to keep wasting my days in that brothel anyway. I'll get him out of Huqi Town first and figure out the rest later!"
Liuzi said sullenly, "All for this old man who won't pay for his whoring? Hardly seems worth it! Where can you go with a blind old man once you leave Huqi Town? Begging? How long will your savings feed you?"
Lü Bufan frowned. "I hid my money up in the old locust tree at the City God's temple. The hollow's blocked with a brick. Brother Liuzi, help me fetch it. I'll take Master Ming out of Huqi Town tonight. We'll look around a nearby town first, find a ruined temple or something to stay in, then see whether I can find work."
"All right! Once you've decided something, no one can talk you out of it. Leaving that plague-cursed brothel is probably for the best. Otherwise, I reckon that madam would get you sooner or later. If it comes to it, I'll sell these two shabby rooms and follow you!"
"No! This is your home. People like us don't come by a place to shelter easily. Don't throw it away lightly. Wait a while. Once I've found somewhere to settle, I'll come back for you!"
Before dawn, Lü Bufan shook Master Ming awake, found a stick to lead him with, and quietly left Huqi Town.
Tucked inside his clothes were the forty copper coins he had saved, along with the thirty-odd coins Liuzi had insisted on giving him. Old man and boy vanished east of Huqi Town beneath the darkness before dawn.
In the darkness, Lü Bufan failed to notice an owl flying strangely through the night sky. Its scarlet eyes watched the old man and boy trudging alone below.
Clutching the stick, the half-blind Master Ming raised his head and turned his clouded eyes coldly toward the sky. The owl let out a string of strange, piercing cries and flapped away.
Master Ming looked at Lü Bufan ahead of him, leading him with a bamboo stick...
In a world like this, how rare to find a child mired in a filthy ditch yet still struggling to be human! I've spent half my life running about to preserve this last breath of humanity. Does meeting this child count as a little thread of fate?
Lü Bufan... An ordinary mortal. A mortal.
I was lying in that graveyard waiting for this little fellow, really. Waiting to see whether this flesh-and-blood boy scraping by in a small-town brothel would come to save me.
I can't see through him. There seems to be a wisp of mist within this boy's lowly destiny... That shameless bastard probably had a deeper purpose in entrusting him with a message for me.
A mortal... A mortal... Was that shameless bastard giving me a pill to settle my heart, telling me to take this child away? But what can a mortal through and through possibly do? Stand there cursing the heavens someday?
Those with the Immortal Root and the aptitude for immortality all have their damned hearts set on becoming Immortals... Becoming Immortals... Those sons-of-bitches Immortals.
In the Capital City of the Great Jin Dynasty, imposing paper lanterns hung high outside a vast mansion adjoining the imperial city.
Five pairs of axes, battle-axes, spears, halberds, and sabers with vermilion-lacquered wooden shafts stood outside its gates! These ceremonial gate weapons had been bestowed by the emperor, an exceedingly rare honor. They marked the resident as an illustrious noble of merit or a high-ranking dignitary.
Above the mansion's vermilion gates hung a stately plaque bearing two large characters... Liu Mansion!
At that moment, Liu Zhi, master of the Liu Mansion, Minister of Rites and Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince, stood cautiously bent at the waist in an elegant reception hall, respectfully attending an old man in Daoist robes with graying hair and beard.
The old man rested with his eyes closed, seated serenely on a cushion of fragrant herbs in the middle of the hall. Wisps of spiritual energy seemed to coil around his body, appearing and disappearing.
After a long while, the old man turned his hands outward from their centered position and drew a deep breath... The spiritual energy surrounding him promptly dispersed. He gently opened his eyes and glanced at Liu Zhi, who stood respectfully before him.
Vice Minister Liu Zhi dropped to the floor in a bow. "Congratulations, Patriarch! Your Eighth Realm cultivation is now stable! Every member of the Liu Clan of Mount Zhlin should celebrate! May the Dao lineage of the Liu Clan of Mount Zhlin continue without end..."
The old cultivator, already well over a hundred, showed no change in expression. He merely nodded, then closed his eyes again and said quietly, "Xian'er has been out of seclusion for over half a month. This time, thanks to the Immortals' summons, she has come to the Capital City's Jinhu Grotto-Heaven to hear the Immortal Venerable's teachings once more... That is the true blessing of our Liu Clan of Mount Zhlin. Having the two of us stay in your worldly mansion is a blessing for you as well. Put more thought into attending to Xian'er... You won't go unrewarded afterward!"
Vice Minister Liu Zhi kowtowed and answered softly, "I shall obey the Patriarch's wishes. The Capital City's Liu household will spare no effort in making arrangements for Lady Xian'er! The South Sea Pearl, rich in spiritual energy, the snake-pattern jade from the Cloud Terrace, more than thirty medicinal herbs over a century old, and dozens of valuable jade vessels are all ready! And... And three chests of the lightest, most precious cloud brocade and cloud-capturing gauze garments and silk stockings are... are ready as well!"
The old man nodded indifferently. "You've put some thought into it, at least. That will do! Remember to take three Pure Immortal Pills from the Liu clan's private treasury and send them to Xian'er too..."
"Your grandson understands! I'll arrange it at once..."
The old man sat alone for a while longer, then spoke as though addressing the empty space beyond the door. "Liu Yang! Any word of that wretch clinging to life at Two-World Mountain?"
The lamplit shadow of a pot of moon bamboo at the reception hall's entrance suddenly quivered strangely. Then a gloomy, ethereal voice sounded... "Reporting to the Sect Master, there is no word yet."
The old man exhaled a foul breath and said with a trace of irritation, "That damned village at Two-World Mountain, crawling with demons and monsters, shrouded in Ghost Mist! We can't conceal the news that Xian'er has left seclusion. If that wretch isn't dead and hasn't left the Central Lands, he'll certainly come seeking revenge against our Liu Clan of Mount Zhlin..."
"Take my Mount Zhilin waist token to the Tranquil Heart Temple behind the Capital City and bring out those remaining Wei clan vermin. In a month, place them on Mount Yuekong south of the Capital City and give them a thorough working-over. Then secretly set up the Mountain-Guarding Formation..."
"Stay there afterward and see whether that wretch Wei Wuchen takes the bait! Doesn't he prize loyalty above everything? Will he go save the last few little vermin his Wei Family has left after all these years? Heh heh heh..."
"Understood! I'll arrange it at once. But with Lady Xian'er at the Jinhu Immortal Abode, should we keep a careful guard..."
"Fool! The Jinhu Immortal Abode lies within the Sima Clan's imperial city. Is it our Liu clan's place to worry? It would be ideal if Wei Wuchen lost his mind and went there. Stopping him is the Sima Clan's duty. If they happen to fail and he disturbs the Immortal Venerable... Heh heh heh, that will be the Sima Clan's fault! As for safety... With the Immortal Venerable presiding, what use would even ten Wei Wuchens be? A single immortal spell would reduce them all to ash and smoke..."
"The Sect Master is wise! This old servant, Liu Yang, will make the arrangements..."
Lights blazed within the vast palace city. Vice Minister Liu Zhi stood in his mansion's rear garden, quietly gazing at the immense, towering palace buildings, his eyes filled with an inscrutable admiration.
Atop the palace's lofty terraces and the domed roofs of its buildings sat luminous pearls, wreathed in immortal energy and glittering like stars!
Together with countless palace lanterns, the pearls illuminated the palace until it resembled an immortal palace in the heavens. Faint, lilting strains of strings and bamboo drifted out...
"Glorious and magnificent, like an immortal palace in heaven! I wonder whether the emperor looks just as I do before the Patriarch when he entertains that Immortal Venerable descended to earth? Heh... With Lady Xian'er enjoying such favor from the Immortals, how wary and suspicious must the Sima Clan emperor be? Heh... Interesting."
A medicine box carved from white jade sat on an elegant red sandalwood table, holding three exceedingly valuable Pure Immortal Pills.
These Pure Immortal Pills did little to improve a cultivator's cultivation, but they could cleanse the body of all impurities and wreathe the user in immortal energy for three days! They also helped stabilize the mind somewhat, which had earned them another name... Three-Day Immortal!
Behind a cloud-embroidered screen beside the table stood an enormous jade bathtub, carved from a single whole piece of lantian colored jade. Classically elegant and worth a fortune, it was a gift Vice Minister Liu had privately presented to Lady Xian'er.
Steam filled the tub, carrying a faint floral fragrance. Through it, the graceful, fair body of a woman was dimly visible.
Six pretty sixteen-year-old maids stood solemnly around the tub, heads lowered and bodies bowed in deference. None dared look directly at the breathtaking woman within, whose allure carried a lofty air.
The woman seemed to sigh softly, then turned and leaned languidly against the edge of the tub, glancing at the three Pure Immortal Pills worth a fortune on the table...
"He really has spared no expense. Immortals, Immortals... How do you know an Immortal only likes that immortal air?"
Wet black hair spilled over the woman's shoulders. Leaning languidly against the tub, she gently raised a delicate, jade-like hand, spread her fingers, and examined her lovely, slightly elongated pale-pink nails.
"Tell me, are my hands beautiful?"
The breathtaking woman gazed tenderly at her soft, jade-like hands and spoke as though to herself. "Back then, Wei Wuchen was most enamored of Xian'er's hands. He called them the most beautiful creations under heaven! But the Immortals admire Xian'er's hands most too... They say these are treasures that should never have appeared in this mortal world... Heh heh heh..."
The six young maids suddenly lowered their heads, trembling with ever greater fear.
Xian'er fluttered her beautiful fingers and continued, "What a pity... Wei Wuchen was only ever touched by this hand once! Just once... And this hand gently tore off his entire face! That handsome face which haunted the dreams of countless noble ladies across the Central Lands... Tell me, did that not fulfill his wish? Since Xian'er couldn't have him, yet had fulfilled his wish, why wouldn't he fulfill Xian'er's wish and leave her that most handsome face in the mortal world? Why did he insist on snatching that face back?"
The breathtaking woman's final words rang hoarse and shrill, seething with murderous intent. All six maids around her, nearly frightened to death, fell to their knees together, their faces deathly pale as though disaster had descended.
Thousands of li south of the Capital City, banks of dark clouds rose into the night sky. Suddenly, lightning slashed across the darkness! It illuminated a slender figure on a wild mountain, gazing toward the distant Capital City...
His white robes were thin, his white hair streaming. Beneath the lightning, his flying hair revealed a face of curling scars and twisted flesh, without eyelids, lips, or nose!
It looked as though someone had torn off his entire face while he was still alive! At that moment, the white-robed man stared straight toward the Great Jin Capital City thousands of li away...
"Xian'er... Thirty years... Some debts are due to be settled!"