Twin Fish Jade Pendant

Wang Qilin frowned when he learned that another yin road had appeared.

No wonder so many strange incidents had happened one after another in a mere township lately!

A yin road.

That was only a name.

It was not actually a specific road, but represented another passage opening between the underworld and the world of the living.

Once sinister spirits and ghosts entered this passage, there was no telling exactly where they would go. It might be tied to their obsessions, or they might appear at random. As the saying went, winding paths led to the netherworld, a hundred ghosts walked the night; humans had their paths, and ghosts had their roads.

So to seal a yin road, they had to work at its source.

Wang Qilin sent Xu Da to notify Shi Zhoushan.

He would not go himself.

That bastard had screwed him over, and he feared he would be unable to resist drawing his saber and hacking at him if they met.

That alone was no big deal. He was afraid he might not be able to beat the man. Wouldn't that be embarrassing?

He still vividly remembered the probing punch Shi Zhoushan had thrown at him back at the clinic.

He knew perfectly well that he was no match for Shi Zhoushan.

With the matter at the general's estate completely resolved, Wang Qilin went to take his leave.

Leaning against the head of his bed, Huang Huaji asked, "Are you in such a hurry to return, Lord Wang? Why not rest here for the night? At least let this old man offer you some hospitality."

But he was weak, and after a few more words, he could not help coughing. As he bent over to cough, a golden-yellow Buddhist scripture fell out.

Huang Huaji paused at the sight of it.

Thinking he did not know where the scripture had come from, Wang Qilin explained, "That gentleman..."

Huang Huaji raised a hand to stop him. "I understand everything."

Gently stroking the scripture, he held it out. "Lord Wang, your Heaven-Listening Bureau entrusted this scripture to me. It was left by Chan Master Sun, a renowned master of Buddhism and Daoism, and has the power to ward off evil and slay demons."

"The scripture was originally meant to be placed at the top of the tower, so that once the yin road was severed, it could destroy the spirits and ghosts left inside. But I never put it there. I didn't want his soul to be scattered, so when the yin road closed this time, he escaped."

"Now that you have slain the spirit inside the tower, it is no longer needed. I was just struggling to think of a gift to express my gratitude, so let me give it to you."

Wang Qilin fell silent.

Struggling to think of a gift? A thousand gold zhu, a prized steed, a divine weapon, or that long-legged granddaughter-any of those would do.

Of course, what he wanted most was the truth about the curse on Crouching Dragon Township's Minor Seals and a way to break it.

The scripture the old general was giving him now might well have something to do with breaking the curse, because it had come from Chan Master Sun.

Chan Master Sun was an extraordinary man with heaven-reaching powers, one of the New Han Dynasty's few renowned masters who cultivated both Daoism and Buddhism. Back then, upon attaining enlightenment, he had crossed the sea to Japan with peerless grace.

Without a doubt, even the lice on a man like that possessed more immortal aura than ordinary people, let alone a scripture he had left behind.

Huang Huaji then explained, "According to the Jade Marshal, who gave me this scripture, it contains a tremendously powerful technique. But comprehending it requires both opportunity and insight. I hope you can unravel it."

Overjoyed, Wang Qilin accepted the scripture, thanked him repeatedly, and turned to leave.

Huang Huaji called him back. "Lord Wang, don't you have any questions?"

Wang Qilin had many questions. How had his soul been replaced? How had his soul ended up in Wuji Tower? How had he taken Huang Qingyun's soul into the underworld? Why could Huang Qingyun only fall one level of Wuji Tower each night?

But he asked none of them, merely shaking his head. "Curiosity can kill a ghost."

Huang Huaji chuckled. "You're a clever man, Lord Wang. I believe you will accomplish great things in the Heaven-Listening Bureau."

He left with the scripture. Xu Da had already borrowed a swift horse from the general's estate and headed for the county town, so he and Xie Hama rode back in the cart.

On the way, he showed Xie Hama the scripture. "Huang Huaji said Chan Master Sun left this Buddhist scripture behind, and that there's an extremely powerful move hidden inside. Can you see what it is?"

Xie Hama casually flipped it open and laughed, pointing at an illustration inside. "This isn't a Buddhist scripture. It's a Daoist scripture, the Baopuzi!"

Wang Qilin was surprised. "Isn't this written in Sanskrit? A Daoist scripture written in Sanskrit?"

Xie Hama laughed heartily and handed it back. "Chan Master Sun was unrestrained and carefree, innocent and guileless. Perhaps this was a little joke of his."

Neither of them knew Sanskrit. Wang Qilin put the Daoist scripture away, then closed his eyes and looked into his sea of consciousness.

The Furnace of Creation could refine the Eight Trigrams Soul-Returning Saber Technique into the Lunar Soul-Severing Saber Technique. He guessed it could refine this Daoist scripture too.

To his surprise, the Furnace of Creation was already blazing at full strength. Flames roared beneath it, but rather than red flames, there was a fierce crimson-blue blaze!

This was the first time he had seen flames of this color.

Needless to say, this flame had come from slaying the deputy general's spirit, which had been far more powerful than any ghost he had encountered before.

Without the aid of all the gods and Buddhas in Wuji Tower, he would already be lying in a coffin, waiting for Black Dragons Carrying the Coffin.

What the furnace was refining was the Six-Step Qi Jade he had obtained some time ago. The jade sliver slowly tumbled above the furnace mouth, and fish patterns had now appeared across its once crystal-clear surface.

By the time the cart was halfway back, a jade pendant had appeared inside his robe.

One black fish and one white fish, each with its mouth meeting the other's tail. Taiji fish-a Twin Fish Jade Pendant!

Wang Qilin knew that Innate Jade refined from a high-level ghost must possess great power, but he did not yet know what exactly that power was. In any case, after putting on the pendant, he felt warm all over.

The cold wind of early spring became as gentle as a charming young wife.

His clash with the spirit inside Wuji Tower had made him all the more aware of his insufficient strength. He decided to buy a few more Nine-Herb Great Replenishing Pills and refine them.

Having previously slain five Mountain Puppets and a little ghost of the Su family, he had accumulated six crimson flames, enough to refine six Heavenly Official's Blessing Pills.

So he set the Daoist scripture Baopuzi aside, planning to use the Furnace of Creation to refine Heavenly Official's Blessing Pills first.

Back at the station, he saw Heidou squatting all alone beneath the willow by the entrance, playing in the dirt. He had dug two holes in the ground and scooped out plenty of soil.

The little fellow had no playmates in Crouching Dragon Township and could only play in the mud by himself.

Wang Qilin thought of his own childhood, and his heart softened. "Heidou, what are you doing?"

Heidou turned, his dirt-covered face breaking into a radiant smile. "I'm digging up rat nests."

"Careful they don't bite you."

"They won't. I'm not some one- or two-year-old baby."

He stood up in disappointment after saying that. "Uncle, why is it so poor here? There's no grain at all in the rat nests. It's as poor as our home."

Wang Qilin smiled. "It's not that we're poor here. The rats don't store grain. They store money."

Heidou was stunned, then flew into the courtyard to find a little iron shovel used for tending the fire before excitedly running back, ready to dig.

Wang Qilin lifted him by his collar and carried him away. Heidou shouted, "Let me go! I can still dig..."

Sniffing, he asked curiously, "What's that smell? I smell sesame!"

Wang Qilin had to hand it to him. When they left the general's estate, the kitchen had been making sesame flatbreads, so he had asked for a few and wrapped them in a cloth bundle.

After carrying his nephew inside, he opened the bundle, revealing sesame flatbreads cooked to a crisp golden brown.

The flatbreads were still warm, their thin surfaces sprinkled with sesame seeds and brown sugar. The fragrance of wheat and sesame blended with the sweet scent. Heidou opened his mouth to cheer, only to drool instead.

"Wash your hands, then come back and eat."

Heidou raced out, then raced back.

"What about your face?"

Heidou hurriedly pointed at his cheek. "Here, Uncle. It's right here."

Wang Qilin rolled his eyes. "I meant, why haven't you washed your face?"

Without another word, the boy raced out again.

Finally getting a sesame flatbread, Heidou quickly broke off a little edge and put it in his mouth, then raced out once more.

Before long, he raced back. "Mother said to let Uncle eat first."

Wang Qilin shook his head. "I don't like them. You eat."

Heidou raced out again.

Wang Qilin was hungry too, and the smell of the flatbreads made him even hungrier. He beckoned to Xie Hama. "While Xu Da's away, let's go eat out."

In the bedroom, Wang Qiaoniang was mending clothes. Looking at the sesame flatbread her son held up, she asked, "Didn't I tell you to let your uncle eat first?"

Heidou said earnestly, "Uncle doesn't like them. Dou will let Mother eat first."

Wang Qiaoniang stroked his upright little topknot. "How could your uncle not like them? He just can't bear to eat them himself. Go on, Dou, be a good boy. Let your uncle eat first."

Heidou nodded hard. "Let Uncle eat first. Dou's a good boy."

He ran back and found the room empty, then scratched his head and ran outside, where he saw Wang Qilin and Xie Hama disappearing around the street corner.

He hurried after them. Rounding the corner, he saw a shop. His uncle was sitting at a square table, lifting a large piece of tender, quivering, fragrant mutton with his chopsticks...

The flatbread suddenly lost all its appeal!