Chapter 8

Rounding the screen, she saw Yu Zezhi.

Just as Wu Yinyu had seen her before at the Cuihui Eight Treasures Pavilion, she was still wearing a horse-face skirt. However, the hem panels were no longer embroidered with lotus branches, but with a flower-and-bird motif.

“Boss Yu,” Wu Yinyu called out.

Yu Zezhi hadn’t put her hair up today. Her long hair cascaded down her back, unadorned. The plain white front-opening long robe was still not fastened shut, worn casually open, its fabric enveloping her frame, which was by no means frail.

Yet she possessed features that carried a hint of ruthlessness. Although her attire was very carefree, her expression held a detached, aloof quality, an indifference to all things.

“You’ve arrived?” Yu Zezhi responded. The hand resting on the table’s edge moved, drawing back her sleeve as she filled the empty porcelain cup opposite her with tea.

As her sleeve pulled back, an ancient string of Bodhi prayer beads was revealed on her wrist.

The bead strand was wound three times around. Three was a rather auspicious number in Buddhism. Wu Yinyu naturally assumed this person must be a Buddhist believer.

Perhaps it was Yu Zezhi’s overly magnanimous and natural posture, or the three coils of Bodhi prayer beads on her wrist, but Wu Yinyu inexplicably felt this person also possessed a slightly Buddhist quality, as if devoid of anger and hatred, like her six roots of sensation were already severed, leaving no more worldly thoughts or concerns.

Surpassing the lotus, emerging from the mortal world yet unstained by a speck of dust. It suited her name rather well.

“Seems I’m late,” Wu Yinyu said with a light laugh. Covertly, she subconsciously scrutinized the area around the other woman. To her surprise, Yu Zezhi was quite clean; there was no filthy, unclean matter clinging to her. She probably didn’t ‘go down below’ often, nor was she well-versed in exorcising evil.

During her assessment, she unexpectedly saw the lotus-patterned red jade was tied at Yu Zezhi’s waist.

She had assumed such a precious item would be kept in a brocade box or something similar. She never expected Yu Zezhi to be wearing it so openly.

But she had to admit, the jade suited Yu Zezhi very well.

If a vermilion color wasn’t properly balanced, it could become overly demonic. Yet, hanging on Yu Zezhi, it appeared exceptionally dignified and poised. Even the strange lotus pattern on it seemed unremarkable.

For a fleeting moment, Wu Yinyu felt this jade was truly meant for Yu Zezhi. Perhaps she shouldn’t have asked to buy it.

“You’re not late.” Yu Zezhi finished pouring the tea and gestured, “Sit.”

Her manner was so generous, she seemed even more the master of this place.

Wu Yinyu sat down accommodatingly. She hadn’t had a single sip of water at the Lu residence, too busy watching that surveillance footage. Now, at the sight of tea, she felt a thirst come on and simply picked up the cup for a shallow sip.

“I’ve brought the jade,” Yu Zezhi said, getting straight to the point.

Wu Yinyu put down her teacup, lounged sideways on the low platform, propped her chin on her hand, and glanced at Yu Zezhi’s side. Smiling, she said, “I can see that. It suits you quite well, Boss Yu. But wearing it like that makes me feel you have no intention of negotiating with me at all.”

“No need for formal address, it feels too distant,” Yu Zezhi lowered her eyes and lifted the pot to refill Wu Yinyu’s cup. “Wearing it myself was presumptuous of me. However, there is one matter I must inform you of, Miss Wu: this jade has been purchased by me.”

Wu Yinyu narrowed her eyes. “Last night, didn’t Boss Yu say you hadn’t found the owner yet?”

“I searched all night. Fortunately, it wasn’t in vain,” Yu Zezhi said frankly. “This should have saved Miss Wu considerable trouble, sparing you the need to negotiate with the original owner after talking with me.”

“The original owner actually agreed to sell to you?” Wu Yinyu grew curious. “What conditions did she set?”

“Conditions? There were none,” Yu Zezhi said flatly. “She was in urgent need of money. Learning one piece had been auctioned, she rushed to the Cuihui Eight Treasures Pavilion. However, she had an urgent matter that day and had to leave in a great hurry, forgetting the jade entirely. She figured it would be safe in the pavilion, so she wasn’t in a rush to retrieve it.”

“Then why was she unreachable for so long?” Wu Yinyu asked again.

“Those are private matters the original owner did not wish to disclose,” Yu Zezhi’s expression remained cold, not like she was lying.

“So there’s that backstory.” Wu Yinyu was half-doubtful. She toyed with the smoking pipe in her hand, teasing, “So what now?”

Yu Zezhi set down the teapot. “We are all from the Five Gates. I certainly won’t make a profit from the price difference, nor will I add any unnecessary fees.”

“Shouldn’t I be thanking you, then?” Wu Yinyu let out a scoffing laugh. “No wonder everyone says the Yu family’s new head knows how to handle affairs.”

“No need for formal address,” Yu Zezhi reminded her again.

Wu Yinyu darted another glance at Yu Zezhi’s waist. “It would indeed be a pity not to wear it yourself for a bit before handing it over.”

Yu Zezhi lowered her head and untied the jade pendant. Even the motion of unfastening the cord was extremely graceful to watch. She placed the jade on the table and said, “You may examine the item first.”

Wu Yinyu brought out her own piece and meticulously compared the jade quality and the lotus pattern on both.

She had never seen two pieces of jade that were exactly identical. Even cloned living things couldn’t be this flawlessly matched.

Light passed through the red jade, revealing every minute internal texture. The two pieces were indistinguishable.

Wu Yinyu’s heart pounded like thunder. This bizarre and uncanny similarity almost made her feel as though she were dreaming again.

She had seen many matched pairs of antiques before. Even if they were cut from the same material, their inner structures would differ. Not to mention, the various frictions and collisions sustained during preservation would inevitably leave different marks on the objects.

“How much do you know about this jade pair?” Wu Yinyu suddenly looked up.

“I wouldn’t say I know much.” Yu Zezhi looked at one of the jade pieces, her gaze very steady. In her eyes was an indescribable… nostalgia, as if she had experienced much with it. Yet her expression remained cold.

That couldn’t be right. Wu Yinyu felt she must have seen wrong.

“It was carved personally by a woman, for her beloved,” Yu Zezhi said calmly.

The word “beloved” was enunciated particularly lightly, as if she didn’t care at all.

Wu Yinyu’s heart gave a heavy thud. She found she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Yu Zezhi. It seemed this person had an innate ability to seize her attention.

Feigning jest, she said, “And just how do you know that? I’ve researched many ancient texts and couldn’t even find a similar lotus pattern. Yet you even know its backstory?”

“If it wasn’t carved with utmost care, how could it bear traces that seem naturally formed?” Yu Zezhi said.

“So it was just a guess.” Wu Yinyu raised an eyebrow slightly and picked up the jade piece Yu Zezhi had brought. She drawled, “But I’m inclined to believe this is not an object of the mortal realm. Therefore, there shouldn’t be any ‘beloved.'”

A glint stirred in Yu Zezhi’s eyes as she silently scrutinized the person across from her.

That stare made Wu Yinyu rather uncomfortable. She set the jade down and picked up her smoking pipe instead. “Do you mind?” she asked.

Yu Zezhi raised a palm in permission.

Having received consent, Wu Yinyu brought out her tobacco box and busied herself with lighting the pipe. She pushed the wooden window beside her open a bit wider. The spring breeze entered the room, dispersing half the swirling smoke.

“You know, in our line of work, we frequently deal with ghosts. We go down to the Two-World Sea, inherit the Ghost Charter, and act as impermanence envoys in the Living World.” She exhaled, a smile curling at her lips within the smoke. “They say ‘Heaven above, the Mortal Realm below.’ Since there’s a Two-World Sea, how could there not be a Heavenly Palace above?”

Yu Zezhi retracted her gaze and started brewing another pot of tea. The Bodhi prayer beads on her wrist clacked softly. “That makes some sense,” she said.

Wu Yinyu thought of the White Jade Capital in her dreams, feeling even more certain that some celestial crystal palace must exist. It was just that they had always only dealt with ghosts and had never seen immortals.

Who was the one being interrogated in her dream? And who was that person wearing red jade, forcing a confession?

Yu Zezhi suddenly asked, “At the Cuihui Eight Treasures Pavilion back then, why did you bid on this jade? Was it really just a gut feeling?”

“Of course.” Wu Yinyu slumped against the low table, turned her head to exhale smoke, and said in a slow, drawn-out tone, “Bidding is all about that gut feeling. I thought it was beautiful, like it was fated, so I bid on it.”

Her peripheral vision shifted, casting a sidelong glance at Yu Zezhi. Blinking, she said, “Give me a price, Boss Yu. I absolutely must have this jade pair.”

“What if it’s not a pair? What if there are three, four, or five identical ones?” Yu Zezhi seemed to jest, but her tone was flat.

“You yourself said it was a pair, how can you backtrack now? This jade couldn’t possibly be mass-produced, could it?” Wu Yinyu nearly choked on her smoke. She moved the mouthpiece away and coughed lightly. “Speaking of which, does Boss Yu know how the previous owner acquired this jade?”

“They said an ancestor obtained it unintentionally, its origins now untraceable.” Yu Zezhi poured out the first steep of tea from the pot.

“Forget it, just name a price. Even if there are three or five identical pieces, I’ll still acquire them all,” Wu Yinyu said.

“I was just jesting. They are indeed a pair.” Yu Zezhi changed tack and asked, “How much can you offer me?”

Wu Yinyu laughed out loud. She knocked the bowl of her pipe against the low table in front of Yu Zezhi and said with keen interest, “Boss Yu, what kind of price negotiation is this? If I said I couldn’t pay a cent, would you still give it to me?”