Ghost Hides Treasures

He hurriedly closed his eyes to examine the Furnace of Creation in his sea of consciousness.

A long saber floated above the furnace's mouth.

Its shape was unmistakably that of the military miaodao the old general had given him earlier.

From its name, "sprout saber," one might have thought the miaodao was a blade used by the Miao people.

But that was not the case. It took its name from its long, relatively straight blade, which resembled a sprout of grain, and was an authentic Han battle saber.

Wang Qilin turned away from Xu Da's line of sight.

With a thought, the long saber appeared in his hand.

Overall, it was a miaodao, with a four-foot blade and a one-foot hilt, making it five feet long.

But it was different from the battle saber Huang Huaji had given him. A ghost head clamped onto the end of its hilt, and when he drew it, the blade was not simply gleaming silver-white, but silver-white streaked with blood-colored rust.

Wang Qilin understood. The Furnace of Creation had fused the ghost-headed saber and the battle saber into one!

Xu Da edged half a step closer and asked, "What do we do, Seventh? Who exactly do we trust?"

"A doctor once said that you have to rely on yourself." He tightened his grip on the hilt and said gravely, "So we trust neither of them. We trust ourselves! Rely on ourselves!"

Xu Da asked, "Who was this doctor? Where is he now?"

"In the underworld. He died later, and pretty horribly, too."

"Fuck!"

The three parties stood in three different directions.

A three-way standoff.

The man who looked like Xie Hama called out, "Lord Wang, don't you trust me? Would you like to verify my identity?"

The Daoist in the coffin floated up on the wind. Standing on the coffin's rim, he sneered, "You fiend must have eaten my fellow Daoist and obtained his memories. That's why you dare spout such nonsense here!"

Wang Qilin remained silent.

He stared at the group beside the coffin.

Something was wrong!

Xu Da walked out with a torch raised and said, "How about this? Do me a favor, you two. Whichever of you is the fiend, just admit it. It's late at night. Let's hurry up and fight, then call it a day and all go home."

What had been a sinister, eerie scene suddenly became rather festive thanks to his antics.

The Daoist in the coffin blinked, at a loss for words.

At that sight, Wang Qilin suddenly realized what was wrong!

Their eyes!

The nine people around the coffin had not blinked once!

Just then, Xu Da approached the coffin and asked, "Daoist, do you think you could do me this favor?"

The corners of the Daoist's mouth twitched.

Xu Da abruptly hurled the torch at him and roared, "You won't do me a favor? Seventh, cut him down!"

The demonic saber left its sheath!

The five-foot saber became a silver dragon. Gripping it in both hands, Wang Qilin strode forward, swinging the long, straight blade in broad, sweeping strokes, wielding the miaodao like a mountain-cleaving axe!

Moonlight spilled down, and the saber gleamed like snow.

The rusty red patches on the blade writhed like flowing blood.

Uncanny!

Eerie!

As the two attacked, Xie Hama flew down from the hill at the same time. His two wide Daoist sleeves swung, sending talismans flying in succession like sharp arrows.

The Daoist in the coffin did not fight back. Instead, he swept his sleeve and floated away, while the eight people who had surrounded the coffin dropped onto all fours and scattered like a pack of wild beasts.

Wang Qilin had thought a bloody battle awaited them. After all, the Daoist in the coffin had looked every inch an expert.

Who would have thought this fellow was all show and no substance, just like Xu Da?

Both were masters at showing off.

Xie Hama limped over and said, "What a shame. Those fiends got away."

Xu Da complained, "Where did you run off to just now?"

Xie Hama said angrily, "This old Daoist has a lame leg. How could I keep up when you ran so fast? Besides, I had to rescue that group of coffin bearers."

"You really went to save them?"

"If I didn't save them, could I count on you to do it?"

Wang Qilin circled the red coffin and asked, "What were those things?"

Now that they were close, they could spot the flaws. This red-lacquered coffin had probably been dug out of the ground; its lacquer was already peeling.

The soul-summoning banners they had used were even more questionable. They were already in tatters, possibly picked up from some old grave.

Xie Hama shook his head. "I don't know either. In wild mountains at midnight, ghosts weep and people howl, with no gods in sight. At a time and place like this, strange things abound. Come, let's meet up with the coffin bearers first."

Two more hills separated them from the coffin bearers.

The bearers had chosen a spot on the leeward side, surrounded by large stretches of woodland that could block the wind.

They had now set down the coffin and were gathered around a campfire, toasting their dry rations.

Xu Da gave Wang Qilin a look.

The coffin concealing the Six-Step Qi Jade was right before them.

Wang Qilin said, "Don't do anything rash. Let's see what's going on first."

Whatever had happened earlier, the nine men were very respectful toward Xie Hama. As soon as he appeared, someone made room for him.

Wang Qilin sat beside the campfire and examined the long saber in his hand. There was rust on the hilt as well, mottled streaks intersecting to form two words:

Horse Slayer!

Xie Hama drew in a sharp breath when he saw the saber in his hand.

Knowing he would ask where the saber came from, Wang Qilin changed the subject first. "Old Xu, how did you know there was something wrong with those things?"

Xu Da froze. "I didn't."

"Then why did you tell me to cut him down? Was it really because he wouldn't do you a favor?"

Xu Da grinned. "Of course not. It was because I trusted this old Daoist."

Xie Hama's attention was diverted. He smiled and asked, "Why trust me?"

Xu Da said, "If I don't trust our own people, am I supposed to trust outsiders?"

Xie Hama paused, then chuckled. "What if I were a demon or ghost in disguise too?"

"Then I'd cut you down as well!"

Xie Hama clapped his hands and laughed. "Nothing wrong with that!"

Hearing this exchange, a black-clad man with thick eyebrows and large eyes asked, "Daoist, brothers, did you encounter something strange too?"

Wang Qilin asked in return, "What did you encounter?"

The men's faces were grim. Brother Nine frowned and said, "We saw it was getting late, so we set down the coffin and prepared to camp. But when we handed out the ration bags, one of our brothers didn't get one!"

"There are nine of us altogether, and the general's household prepared nine ration bags. But after we handed them all out, one man still had no bag."

"But when we had everyone put their bags back and counted them, there were still nine! We handed them out again, and one man still didn't get a bag!"

"We counted one another. There was nothing wrong with the number of people. There were nine of us!"

"Then I had everyone count off, and the last brother actually shouted 'ten'! There was an extra one among us!"

A gust swept between the hills, making the campfire flicker wildly.

One man said quietly, "Out in the wilds, it's best not to talk about eerie things in the dead of night. People are listening, and so are ghosts."

"What the hell is there to fear?" Xu Da looked disdainful. "I work for the Heaven-Listening Bureau. What ghost haven't I seen? What strange thing haven't I experienced?"

Brother Nine asked, "So you're an officer of the Heaven-Listening Bureau. Have you experienced the sort of strange thing we encountered today, then? What kind of ghost is behind it?"

Xu Da said, "There's not enough firewood. I'll go gather some."

Stroking his beard, Xie Hama said, "Have you ever experienced this? You casually put something down somewhere, but when you go back for it, you can't find it no matter how you look. Then, after you stop searching, it suddenly appears one day."

Everyone hurriedly nodded.

Xie Hama said, "That's called ghost hides treasures. That's what happened to you today. It's hard to say exactly what sort of ghost it was, but they're usually harmless wandering souls."

Those last words failed to reassure the nine men. They hunched their necks and huddled a little closer together.

The flatbreads were set over the campfire to toast. The lard baked into them melted out, leaving their many layers glistening with grease and looking especially tempting in the firelight.

Xu Da was the first to take a piece and bite into it. He said, "How about this? We're still not that far from the general's residence. You can go back there to rest tonight, and the three of us will watch the coffin for you. What do you think?"

Several men looked at Brother Nine. There was no doubt that he was their leader.

Brother Nine cupped his fists. "Thank you for your kindness, brother, but our general has issued a military order. We have to carry the coffin a hundred li before we can return."

"You can come back tomorrow and keep carrying it," Xu Da said.

Several men's eyes lit up, but someone said quietly, "The general's temper has become violent and irritable lately. If we go back...?"

Everyone shuddered, their faces immediately falling.

Noticing their nonlocal accents, Wang Qilin asked, "Are you General Huang's personal guards?"

Brother Nine shook his head. "We're sons of military households. We've never served as soldiers."

Xu Da curled his lip. "I thought so. If New Han's fierce warriors had only as much courage as you, how could they guard the frontier and expand our territory?"

That was rather insulting, and several men glared at him.

Xu Da pulled open his collar, revealing a chest as hard and solid as black iron, with chest hair like wild grass. Several men immediately lowered their heads, though some gazes grew more ardent.

After the meal, one man went to relieve himself.

He did not dare go far, heading into the nearby woods.

Before long, a howl rang out from the trees. "Help! Help!"