Chapter 24

The firecrackers ignited, the brass gong sounded, and Lu Beicheng was to begin chanting the Prophetic Diagram. Even those standing around the thirty-six bright lamps would join in the chant.

The Prophetic Diagram mostly contained words and phrases in scrambled order. When chanting, the chanter must concentrate their mind, sending their soul outward, entering a state of Soul Wandering in the Grand Void, seeking the hidden prophecies within the diagram, and then reciting them one by one.

After the firecrackers finished, Yu Zezhi released Yu Suhan’s ears, instead resting her hands lightly on the girl’s delicate shoulders.

Wu Yinyu’s expression turned serious, the casual smile gone from her lips. Watching the Daoist priest in the distance preparing to ascend the ladder, she said, “Has Boss Yu ever seen such Soul-Summoning Arts? This is called ‘Mountain of Blades.’ It signifies crossing the Two-World Sea, pursuing and recapturing the wandering soul from the space between life and death.”

Yu Zezhi didn’t respond, but instead looked down and asked, “Did you understand?”

The girl was still very confused, not knowing if she’d actually taken it in, yet she replied, “Understood.”

Wu Yinyu shifted her gaze to Lu Beicheng.

Kneeling at the beginning of the scroll, Lu Beicheng had his eyes tightly shut, already appearing to be in a state of focused soul projection.

To onlookers, with his eyes closed, he shouldn’t have been able to see anything on the diagram. Yet, his mouth moved, and he recited in a slurred, indistinct voice: “Expel all evil; those not virtuous among Ghostly Evils shall not approach. Yet the wanderer, lost on forked paths, cannot escape…”

Wu Yinyu frowned deeply at the words. After a few seconds of silence, she explained, “What Lu Second just said describes Lu San’s current predicament.”

“What does it mean?” Yu Zezhi asked.

Wu Yinyu hesitated. “Lu Sansheng should have been safe and smooth-sailing. I don’t know how, but he’s trapped somewhere, having lost his way.”

This probably couldn’t be blamed on Lu Beicheng. Before he left the family, all the Lu family’s Prophetic Diagrams were chanted by him. He possessed an unparalleled natural talent for divining fortune and misfortune.

Lu Dongqing’s breathing grew suddenly rapid, pulled back to reality by a startled shout from the man ascending the ladder in the altar area.

“Hah!” The barefoot man held an iron chain, its other end attached to a heavy spiked iron ball.

Both the chain and the spiked ball had just been pulled from a fire, heated until they glowed red-hot. An ordinary person holding them would certainly be burned.

The man stepped up the wooden ladder rung by rung. His feet, treading on the blades, were miraculously unharmed. Upon reaching the top, he suddenly swung the long chain in his hand.

The spiked ball swung up, colliding with the fierce wind in mid-air, producing a mournful howl.

Eyes still shut, Lu Beicheng slowly turned his head along the scroll as if searching word by word for a prophecy.

He chanted: “Mountains cut off, waters blocked. The pathfinder moves along the Azure Dragon Position…”

“He’s giving directions to the one ‘climbing the Mountain of Blades’,” Wu Yinyu explained.

Yu Zezhi nodded slightly and patted Yu Suhan’s shoulder, signaling her to memorize carefully.

Yu Suhan clutched her bunny tighter and nodded obediently, albeit fearfully, saying, “I understand.”

Wu Yinyu still couldn’t fathom why Yu Zezhi was so anxious for a young child to learn these things.

“Move back!” The man on the ladder suddenly bellowed.

The people near the altar who were chanting along hurriedly retreated. The man swung the long chain, sending the spiked ball sweeping over the nine lamps in the Azure Dragon Position.

One of the lamps suddenly extinguished, its flame dying out, leaving only a charred, blackened wick.

This was… an ill omen.

Lu Beicheng, his eyes tightly shut, suddenly breathed rapidly. He frowned deeply and declared: “The searched-for wanderer is neither dead nor alive. In the lands of the living, no trace can be found. In the lands of extreme yin, no remnant of soul remains. Breaking taboos is useless; welcoming the spirit home is hard!”

Lu Dongqing’s expression changed drastically. He shot to his feet, his right arm gripping the chair’s armrest trembling uncontrollably.

Wu Yinyu was also shocked. Turning her head, she whispered, “Indeed, something’s strange. Lu Sansheng’s soul is neither in the Living World nor the Underworld. So where exactly is he?”

“Presumably, it’s the same for Lu Yiqi and Feng Qingshuang,” Yu Zezhi said, still completely calm.

The man “climbing the Mountain of Blades” swayed left and right. His waist suddenly snapped backwards, his left foot skidding out to the side.

Because of that movement, his left foot landed on a blade, piercing straight through his sole.

The wound was far too deep. The man cried out in agony, tilting his head back. Yet, he was still in a state of projected soul. No one around dared to approach and help.

The crowd exchanged glances, fearing to disrupt the ritual. They simply echoed the words Lu Beicheng had just spoken.

At that moment, the man suddenly jolted awake, blood spraying from his mouth.

Simultaneously, Lu Beicheng’s soul seemed to be slammed back into his body. He shuddered violently and snapped awake.

This unexpected turn of events stunned everyone present. The man staggered back from the ladder, while Lu Beicheng hung his head low, his eyes bloodshot as a drop of blood trickled from the corner of his eye.

Lu Dongqing hurried over. Leaning on his cane, he bent down, grabbed the roller of the Prophetic Diagram, and rolled it shut, forcing the scroll closed.

“If there hadn’t been an accident, this ritual would have continued until past midnight,” Wu Yinyu straightened up, no longer leaning against the pillar.

Yu Zezhi pressed firmly on Yu Suhan’s shoulders and asked flatly, “What are the consequences of this disruption?”

“Nothing much. It simply means that no matter what they try, they won’t find Lu Sansheng’s soul again.” Wu Yinyu suddenly had a craving for a smoke, but she hadn’t brought matches, so she could only endure it.

As expected, that mass of Ink Qi is no benevolent entity, she thought to herself.

The man who had staggered down from the ladder could no longer stand upright. The sole of his left foot was pierced through, leaving several bloody footprints. He had to be helped into a chair pushed forward by someone, otherwise, he would have had to endure the pain standing.

The man hadn’t given up yet. He turned his head and shouted, “There’s still a chance! Take me to see the Third Young Master of the Lu Family!”

Wu Yinyu raised an eyebrow, surprised. “They even brought Lu Sansheng back from the hospital?”

Upon hearing this, the man’s disciples immediately hoisted the chair he was sitting in and carried him to the bedside where Lu Sansheng lay.

Inside the room, the man sat up straight. With a simple gesture, a disciple beside him knowingly presented a short blade.

He drew the knife and slashed a line across both of his palms. Leaning forward, he smeared the blood onto Lu Sansheng’s temples, staining them a vivid red.

“Lift the Third Young Master’s arms!” the man commanded.

Hearing this, two disciples each took hold of one of Lu Sansheng’s arms, allowing their master to press his four palms against the young man’s.

However, no matter how the master chanted, he could no longer find the path Lu Sansheng’s soul had traveled. The palms he pressed outward suddenly trembled violently. The taste of rust surged in his throat again, and he couldn’t help but spit out another mouthful of blood.

“Master!” the two disciples cried out in unison.

The man lowered his arms, leaning against the back of the chair to rest for a long time before coming back to his senses. He shook his head. “It’s no use. I can’t find him.”

In the courtyard, Lu Beicheng’s eyes were still bleeding. His eyes had become dull and lifeless, as if his vision was also impaired.

Lu Dongqing’s heart pounded with fear. He quickly ordered, “Hurry, take Second Young Master to the hospital! Quickly!”

Lu Beicheng remained kneeling, pushing away those who came forward to help him. He turned his head towards the sound and extended his arms shakily. “Grandfather.”

Lu Dongqing sensed he had something to say and quickly leaned in.

With extreme difficulty, Lu Beicheng said, “The Prophetic Diagram was obscured. I couldn’t see anything beyond that. The next stage of the prophecy cannot be carried out.”

“How could it be obscured? Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?” Lu Dongqing asked anxiously.

“I have never made a mistake when chanting the Diagram,” Lu Beicheng grabbed Lu Dongqing’s arm. “Something covered it. It wouldn’t let me continue, but I… couldn’t see what it was. It was too dark.”

Lu Dongqing looked at the rolled-up diagram at his feet. He stared for several seconds before slowly opening it again. But the scroll was perfectly clean, all the pictures and text clear. There was no covering at all.

He quickly placed the scroll back into the brocade box, took the Red String from Lu Beicheng’s neck, and wrapped the box up again.

“How is the Diagram, Grandfather?” Lu Beicheng asked.

“There’s nothing abnormal on the scroll,” Lu Dongqing said gravely.

Lu Beicheng swayed, bracing himself on the ground with both arms. He said dazedly, “My eyes… I can’t see. I need to go to the hospital.”

The people who had been pushed away earlier rushed forward again and helped him into the car outside.

Mindful of the many guests still present, Lu Dongqing looked around with a complicated expression. “Forgive the poor showing, everyone. This ritual ended too hastily, wasting your time. I…”

“Elder Lu, may I borrow that diagram to take a look?” Wu Yinyu walked over, extending her hand.

The word was “borrow,” but whether Lu Dongqing agreed or not, she was going to look. This hand couldn’t be extended for nothing.

Lu Dongqing hesitated briefly before handing her the brocade box. “Yinyu, have you spotted something amiss?”

“I’ll know after I look,” Wu Yinyu said slowly.

Although the ritual’s purpose was to find Lu Sansheng’s soul, his soul might have an inexplicable connection with Feng Qingshuang’s disappearance. Therefore, the expressions of the Feng family members were no less grim.

Feng Pengqi also walked towards Lu Dongqing and said, clearly agitated, “Let me look too.”