“Yes.” Yu Zezhi tilted her head up, studying the Five Gates’ family register. “We were headed there anyway.”
The last time they had entered the Forbidden Chamber, she had been the only one absent. Now that she was inside, she couldn’t help but take a few extra glances around.
It seemed like a stream of light flickered across the dark gold brushstrokes of the family register. Wu Yinyu found it incredible and said, “Why would the Five Gates strike out Wuxian’s name? Did that name only turn gold later on?”
Zezhi looked at it for a moment. “In Wisdom Water Red Mountain, the names of those who have achieved Ascension to Immortality are painted gold by the Heavenly Dao. Her name was probably struck out before that.”
A mischievous look appeared in Wu Yinyu’s eyes. “Boss Yu really does know everything. You must be the Rival Zhuge of Wise City.”
Zezhi cast her a flat glance, as if conceding, and didn’t bother to argue.
“So that Wisdom Water Red Mountain really is interesting,” said Yinyu, retracting her gaze. She pulled a copper coin from her pocket and tossed it into the three-legged incense burner on the table. “Immortals and gods, bustling with life.”
Clink.
With that sound, it was as if she had paid her respects to the Five Gates, to the ancestors of the Wu Family, and to Wu Qiyu.
Yinyu turned around, leaning back with her arms propped on the incense table. “Guess where the prayer wheel came from.”
Perhaps her hint was too obvious, because Zezhi guessed it instantly. “Here?”
“Exactly.” Yinyu smiled. “This Shrine Hall was never renovated. The Forbidden Chamber must have always been here. Who would have thought that what you were looking for was right under your nose all along?”
Zezhi didn’t look regretful. She always wore that same calm, silent expression, as if she had already seen through the cause and effect of the world.
She gave a faint smile and said, “It doesn’t matter. Seeing it now isn’t too late.”
Yinyu held out her hand, her clean palm facing upwards. “Give me a copper coin?”
Zezhi opened her bag to search for one. “Do you know why I wanted to find the painting inside the prayer wheel?”
“Why?” Yinyu was rather curious.
Zezhi finally found the coin. When she placed it in Yinyu’s palm, she didn’t immediately withdraw her hand. Instead, she pressed down gently on the coin against Yinyu’s palm.
“It is a part of you. I agreed to your request, and I originally intended to bring you here complete. But when I went to take you away, I discovered something was missing from you…”
Yinyu’s heart beat faster. The bewilderment rising from her chest was like a beast, clawing and thrashing beneath her ribs.
She hesitated before asking, “What was missing? Some component? A Hun soul or a Po soul?”
“Neither, but it is of vital importance.” Zezhi’s voice was calm. “It belongs to you, so no matter what perilous situation it is in, it will eventually return to your side.”
The pressure on Yinyu’s palm eased. She immediately closed her fist, turned around, spread her fingers, and placed that coin into the incense burner too.
Ivory Mast Beach was a must, but they’d have to wait for the rain to let up before they could get there.
Leaving the Wu residence, they retraced their path and climbed back out.
Yinyu looked meaningfully at Zezhi, stifling a laugh as she got into the car. “This must be a first for you, Boss Yu—breaking and entering. If we’d been caught, your reputation would be in tatters.”
“What then?” Zezhi fastened her seatbelt and looked at Yinyu expressionlessly, as if demanding a solution.
“I’ll compensate you,” Yinyu said nonchalantly.
“How?” Zezhi asked.
Yinyu glanced towards the other woman’s waist, lifted her chin, and said matter-of-factly, “Didn’t I compensate you long ago? That jade pendant is worth a fortune. Or do you want something else?”
It was clearly just a casual tease, not even a real joke, but Zezhi let out a very faint laugh.
“What do you want?” Yinyu asked.
Right now, not only were her eyes full of affection, but even her voice was scattering hints of impure desire.
She never hid it, brazenly broadcasting her less-than-innocent intentions. Every word and action was deliberate.
Zezhi’s smile faded, and though she averted her eyes, her gaze couldn’t be called cold.
How could one who had already broken the Precepts still control their mind and spirit? This avoidance, in Yinyu’s view, was nothing more than a struggle.
Yinyu leaned back in her seat, found a comfortable position, and folded her arms lazily. “Drive on, Boss Yu. If we need to stop at a gas station, the fuel’s on me.”
“No need to split hairs so finely,” Zezhi said, pressing the accelerator lightly and driving off unhurriedly.
“I wouldn’t compensate you with me,” Yinyu said leisurely.
From Wise City to Ivory Mast Beach, even without stopping, it would take a full day’s drive.
What’s more, the closer they got, the gloomier the sky became. The heavy rain pattered down, and the car windows were smeared. Even with the wipers swishing back and forth, visibility was still poor, forcing them to slow down even more.
Once they left Wise City and hit the highway, the car had barely gone ten kilometers when Zezhi’s vision went black. Ghostly Qi gathered in the backseat as something suddenly appeared and covered her eyes.
Yinyu sensed the approaching Yin Energy. She abruptly sat up straight and turned her head, only to see a pair of ashen hands covering Zezhi’s eyes.
That thing carried… Feng Pengqi’s aura.
Yinyu had anticipated this. After all, she had still brought the prayer wheel when they left the Yu Residence. As long as the prayer wheel was with them, their tracks would be exposed.
But what she hadn’t expected was that the Five Gates would pursue them so relentlessly!
The ashen Little Ghost was pressed up right behind the driver’s seat. His appearance was still quite immature, and he looked a bit timid.
Feng Pengqi seemed much more reserved than Lu Dongqing; he was always quiet and rarely offered ideas. A person like that seemed to bottle up all his bitterness and grievances, letting the resentment fester in his chest and making his eyes more and more sinister.
Looking closer, the Little Ghost had a Talisman Paper stuck to him, and that talisman clearly bore Feng Pengqi’s name. He had been… pushed to the edge.
The moment her eyes were covered, Zezhi eased off the accelerator and said calmly, “Something’s here.”
“Keep driving forward. Boss Yu, just hold the steering wheel steady.” Yinyu reached out, and in a very unconventional move, tore off Feng Pengqi’s talisman for controlling the ghost. She sneered, “Is the Feng Family trying to usurp the Yu Family? Even resorting to using Ghost Puppets like others?”
With the talisman torn off, Yinyu smacked the Little Ghost on the forehead, sending him flying.
“It’s nothing but a poor imitation. A talisman user should act like a talisman user. Puppet Control? Leave that to the Yu Family.” Yinyu clicked her tongue.
She then took out a copper coin, pulled her hairpin from her hair to scratch her middle finger, and smeared the drawn blood onto the coin.
The Little Ghost had already let go, and Zezhi held the steering wheel steady, not veering off course in the slightest.
She pressed the accelerator again, turned her head for a quick glance, and asked, “What are you going to do?”
As her words fell, Yinyu hurled the copper coin.
The coin shot into the Little Ghost’s brow. He thrashed and rolled in pain, making a terrible racket.
“Still.” Yinyu uttered the single word casually.
The Little Ghost instantly froze, his eyes wide with terror.
A look of utter satisfaction curled on Yinyu’s lips. “Fight fire with fire. He wants to control ghosts, so I’ll do the same. It’s all just pitiful imitation; who says I can’t do it?”
She said it so lightly, as if she’d done such things quite often.
It’s often said that the Wu Family’s Young Miss walks a crooked path, not much better than the Lu family’s Lu Beicheng, who walked the demonic path. Part of the reason stems from this.
The Little Ghost was held completely rigid, unable to move an inch.
A hint of disdain crept into Yinyu’s tone. “Compared to the Yu Family’s Puppet Threads, the Feng Family’s talismans are far too limiting, and far too fragile. He’s learned nothing of the essence.”
After a pause, she added, slowly and darkly, “I mean no disrespect to Old Feng, but he’s getting desperate, so am I.”
Her justification was perfectly sound. Zezhi couldn’t argue with it; she only asked, “Where did you learn this from?”
“I don’t know.” Yinyu blinked, looking utterly innocent. “I was born knowing how.”
As she spoke, she snapped her fingers and addressed the Little Ghost. “Go find Feng Pengqi. Don’t let him know I’m heading to Overgrown Mountain.”
The Little Ghost had no choice but to bow in agreement. His form gradually faded, and in a moment, he was gone without a trace.
“Boss Yu, so capable—can’t you shield the prayer wheel’s presence?” Yinyu shot her a glance.
“What’s inside belongs to you. I don’t have that kind of ability.” Zezhi managed to remain completely composed.
Yinyu was stunned. Laughing, she said, “So what you’re saying is, I was pretty formidable before, too?”
“You certainly were.” Zezhi kept her eyes fixed straight ahead.
Nearly half the car journey from Wise City to Overgrown Mountain was under rain. The roads were hard to traverse to begin with, and to make matters worse, the car broke down, wasting nearly a day before they could set off again.
Thankfully, the rain lightened over the next two days. The windshield wipers were no longer swishing frantically; they scraped sporadically, as if weak and powerless.
Feng Pengqi didn’t dare to go too far, after all. Besides that one Little Ghost, he sent no others.
Zezhi stopped playing audiobooks in the car and instead listened to the news. The report said the torrential rain in the Ivory Mast Beach urban area had stopped, and the roads would soon be clear.
Yinyu slumped in her seat, recalling everything she had seen and heard in the Wu Family’s Forbidden Chamber…
The last place Wuxian appeared was between Ivory Mast Beach and Overgrown Mountain. There were mountains and water there, and from a distance, it looked like a small village, with houses sparsely scattered around.
Even though the heavy rain had stopped, and even if the floodwaters receded, the road to Overgrown Mountain was still difficult to traverse.
Yinyu was already exhausted and aching all over. Jostled by the ride, she unknowingly drifted off to sleep. But the moment she sensed the car slowing down, she woke up very promptly.
She opened her eyes and looked out the window. The sky was growing dark, and the road was full of potholes. The distant mudflats were covered with stones.
“Awake?” Zezhi’s peripheral vision flicked towards her.
“We almost there?” Yinyu slowly sat up and asked.
“We’re near Ivory Mast Beach.” Zezhi was driving very slowly. The roads here were rough, and going faster would cause unbearable jolting.
“No need to drive to Ivory Mast Beach.” Yinyu looked at the mudflats along the road. “When I first learned there was a great disaster near Ivory Mast Beach, I assumed the problem was this mudflat area. Now that I’ve got a clearer picture, the real source of the trouble might be Overgrown Mountain.”
The area around the mudflats was sparsely populated and barren to begin with. Compared to the devastated urban areas on the news, this place didn’t seem much different from before the disaster.
From Ivory Mast Beach to Overgrown Mountain, the terrain rose steadily.
Yinyu normally didn’t get carsick, but she wasn’t feeling well, and the road was muddy and rough. Every time the car body swayed, it almost made her throw up. She simply rolled down the window and leaned against it, breathing in the air.
With the window wide open, amidst the sound of the wheels grinding and the howling wind, the faint sounds of gongs, drums, and suona horns could be heard.
At first, Yinyu thought she’d misheard. But as the car got closer, she spotted a village in the distance that had been ravaged by the storm.
It didn’t sound like funeral music, nor did it sound like celebratory music. The instrumental sounds grew clearer and clearer, and she realized they were coming from inside the village.
The houses in that village looked no different than they had decades ago, as if they had been abandoned for a very long time.
Zezhi naturally heard it too. She glanced out the window and said, “Coming from the village?”
“Let’s go take a look.” Yinyu narrowed her eyes, startled to realize that this was the very village Wuxian had passed through.
Zezhi turned the steering wheel, as if she were obeying without question. Without a single word, she drove in that direction.
