Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
I handed him his Cosmic Bag and said, "Don't ask now; I'll tell you later. After you drop Aunt Wang off, if the door is closed, just wait outside until it opens."
Master Xiao nodded and went to escort Aunt Wang home.
Moments later, the altar that had been disrupted was restored to its original state by the two masters. The offerings had just been used to honor the fake Yin Chai, so they needed to be reprocessed. The method was simple: burn new Incense to cleanse it, then adjust the direction and recite a food offering incantation.
Once everything was in order, the master and Master Pan sat down at their respective positions, waiting. I stood behind the master, and to be safe, he took out a compass and placed it on the offering table.
About half an hour passed, and Yin Chai still hadn't appeared. Master Pan asked curiously, "Old Xu, did you cast a divination? What does it say?"
The master replied with a hum, "It will be here soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the Main Hall slowly opened again. The two incense sticks at the entrance, which were only a few centimeters long, instantly burned out. The master and Master Pan quickly stood up, and we respectfully performed a bow.
Following the same procedure as before, this time Yin Chai's offering time was brief—only two or three minutes. Before the master could speak, Yin Chai began to talk. It wasn't incoherent babble but rather a dialect I could understand from my hometown. As for its form, I still couldn't see it clearly; it remained vague yet exuded an undeniable pressure that made it hard to look directly at.
"Master X, now that the parties involved are here, you don't need to shoulder all the blame alone anymore. I can see at a glance whether they are related to that incident and how," Yin Chai said, clearly addressing the master.
"In that case, how should we proceed with your judgment, Yin Envoy?" the master asked calmly. Given the circumstances, there was no longer any need for concealment. Even if he wanted to hide something, he couldn't.
I couldn't see Yin Chai's expression, but I could discern its attitude from its words—calm yet serious: "Three options: One: all three share the responsibility equally; each of you will lose two years of Lifespan. Two: similarly, each will lose half of their Merit and Blessings. Three: within three years, both of your older masters must retire from this line of work; the younger one can have an extra year—meaning you must wash your hands of Underworld Cuisine within four years."
I couldn't recall Yin Chai's exact words at that moment, but that was essentially what it meant.
Master Pan looked at me and asked, "Xiao Liu, can you accept option three?"
I glanced at the master and nodded without hesitation. "Yes, no problem." Lifespan and Merit and Blessings were incredibly valuable for both masters; as for retiring from this line of work—it was relatively easier to accept. They were getting older anyway and were due for retirement; it was just a bit sooner than expected. However, I didn't understand why we had to retire; I had no idea what the significance of this punishment was.
"Masters, there's no need to rush into a decision right now; you can discuss it among yourselves. Within seven days, I will enter your dreams separately to ask for your answers. That's all for now; I need to return to report," Yin Chai's voice interrupted our discussion.
The master nodded and stood up with Master Pan, saying, "Send off the Yin Envoy."
Yin Chai didn't leave immediately but added another remark: "There's also an additional condition: you need to find that imposter who pretended to be me and send them down below."
Master Pan immediately responded, "Don't worry; even if you hadn't mentioned it, we would have sought them out."
A continuous "Hmm" marked the end of my only conversation with Yin Chai. I thought to myself, this is what a proper Yin Chai should be like.
Not long after Yin Chai left, Master Xiao returned with Aunt Wang. As soon as he entered, he asked how it went. I replied that it was quite good. Master said, "Actually, this multiple-choice question is very simple. It's like they've opened a back door for us; without a doubt, choosing option three incurs the least loss." He glanced around and continued, "It's just that if you don't rely on this for a living in the future, how will you live?"
I chuckled and said, "It's fine, Master. A strong body won't starve. We weren't planning to do this for much longer anyway; it's a good opportunity to step back and make a decision. I can also experience an ordinary person's life."
Master Pan said, "That's right. Then let's unify our stance and choose option three."
I nodded without hesitation, and Master also nodded in agreement. He looked at the rankings of the Grandmasters on the shrine and lowered his head with a somber expression. I asked him, "Why is there such a punishment? Can we be punished for not doing this job? Aren't we helping maintain the order of the Underworld by doing this? Why must there be such punitive conditions?"
Master replied, "Our profession is quite special; Yin De accumulates well. However, the karmic debts are heavy. Specifically speaking, we actually fall under the jurisdiction of the lower realms, much like how people working in companies can be fired for serious mistakes. You can think of this punishment as a way to clean house."
I nodded thoughtfully while Master Xiao looked confused and asked, "What are you two talking about? What happened that you won't be doing this job anymore?"
Master Pan explained, "The specifics of the punishment have come out; we've chosen to wash our hands of this within three to four years."
Master Xiao exclaimed, "Oh! You two old folks were already planning to retire in the next few years. But Brother Liu, aren't you going to work a few more years?"
"Yes, retiring within four years," I forced a smile and replied.
Suddenly, Master Xiao jumped up from his seat and shouted loudly, "What the hell! You didn't even discuss it with me!"
His sudden outburst startled Master Pan. Master Pan quickly stepped over to Master Xiao's side and gave him a slap on the back of his head. "Can you not be so dramatic when you speak? Whether he retires or not is something he should discuss with you?"
Master Xiao shrugged and rubbed the back of his head as he said, "No, Master. I just wanted to ask if there's any room for negotiation on this matter."
Master closed the door to the Main Hall and said, "No, this is a punishment regulation from above; it cannot be violated. Old Pan, look for that Spirit God who impersonated Yin Chai earlier. Since it came looking for us, we should take care of this matter. Can we still roughly calculate it now?"
Master Pan replied, "No problem; it will be done in about an hour." After saying that, he pulled out a handful of Glutinous Rice. He then lit three sticks of incense on the table and took out three soul-seeking talismans, wrapping them around each stick of incense in an umbrella-like fashion.
Once the incense was lit, he began chanting spells while tossing rice grains. Before each toss of rice, he would draw a short spell over the incense; each toss consisted of only a few grains. After repeating this seven or eight times and tossing the last few grains from his hand, Master Pan quickly formed double-handed Hand Seals and drew several large Hand Spells over the incense.
Releasing his Hand Seals, Master Pan swiftly swept his hand over the scattered rice on the table again until several grains appeared in his hand. Looking at the smoke from the three sticks of incense now flowing straight in one direction instead of erratically.
Master was originally organizing those offerings but glanced at Master Pan after he completed his Ritual and asked him, "Due southwest—how far is it?"
Master Pan opened his palm and counted the grains of rice, saying, "It's quite close, just three miles away. No wonder it knows we set up such a large offering platform."
This method of Feng Shui was something I had never seen before. To rely on the Yin Qi left by the Spirit God to locate where the Spirit God currently was, and to do so with such accuracy, left me utterly astonished. I jokingly asked Master Pan, "Master Pan, how does this work? Can you teach me?"
Master Pan smiled but did not respond. Master Xiao took the opportunity to speak up, saying, "Don't even think about it; he won't teach me, his own disciple. He says that even if I learned it, I wouldn't be able to master it."
"You really can't learn it. Without at least ten or twenty years of practice, you won't be able to grasp this skill," the master said as he opened the door and walked out.
I continued to ask Master Pan, "Even if you have a direction and a place, how can you be sure it won't move? Or what if it's just passing by and you happened to calculate its position?"
Master Pan replied, "Look, the direction of the incense has remained unchanged; there hasn't even been a slight tremor. If it were moving, the smoke wouldn't be in this state. As it stands, it has been stationary for several minutes now. If that place weren't its resting spot, it wouldn't stay there for so long without moving."
"Oh."
The six o'clock update is here, and there will be another bonus chapter shortly. Please stay tuned.
Comment 0 Comment Count