Chapter 25 – Benefactors, Help Me!

Tao Rong, Elder Tao.

He had suppressed the Undying City and guarded Hopeless Cliff. With his iron brush, he could sing of the wind and moon in times of peace, and determine life and death in times of war.

He was considered one of the pillars of the Mountain Sea Pavilion. What usually infuriated him the most was that the Pavilion Master and the other old bones showed him too much respect. Daily greetings, inquiries, and pleasantries were one thing, but they also liked to put him on a pedestal.

He wasn’t dead yet, so why were they treating him like a memorial tablet?

Elder Tao Rong had been indignant for a long time. Upon hearing of the Soul Thread’s appearance, he immediately sought out Pavilion Master Zuo and berated him endlessly. Pavilion Master Zuo, his face sprayed with spittle, had to send him on a trip to Fu City just to get some peace and quiet. Before arriving in Fu City, Elder Tao Rong, an old steed still yearning to run a thousand li, felt there was no situation in the world that he, this old pillar, couldn’t handle.

But this “situation” probably did not include a casino.

“Clatter, clatter, clatter!“

A black-lacquered wooden cup was shaken by a cold, beautiful hand, the dice inside rattling like a sudden downpour. Finally, with a river-settling posture, it was flipped over and slammed heavily onto the Heavenly Snow tabletop covered in plain brocade with a loud thwack.

Elder Tao Rong had always been a man who appreciated “elegance.” He had named his flying boat “Heavenly Snow,” meaning a lone flower flying in the sky. Not only was the mast painted with ink landscapes, but the bow was also fitted with a pine table and plum chairs. Every time he traveled by flying boat, he would change into a wide-robed, broad-sleeved coat, sit at the bow, and pour wine in the long wind, taking inspiration from the line “in this high place, I drink with the azure sky,” and even kept paper and brush at hand to dash off calligraphy when inspiration struck.

He could be said to be utterly untainted by the dust of the mortal world.

No, now this lone flying flower in the sky had been thoroughly dragged into the mortal dust. Not only dragged in, but it had also rolled around in the mud a few times!

On the pine table meant for drinking with the azure sky, a pot of scholar’s rock bamboo and still water, once full of charm, had been moved to the deck. The lovely, crystalline stones inside had been fished out and carved into several dice. The plain brocade tablecloth was stained with dark and light ink blotches here and there. A bald Purple-Hair Brush was carelessly tossed on it, and torn strips of Xuan paper were scattered all over the table and floor…

“Place your bets! Place your bets!”

Chou Bodeng had one foot on a plum blossom chair and one hand on the dice cup. His phoenix eyes swept around, sharp and imposing, though his left and right cheeks were unfortunately adorned with two paper slips.

“Hurry up, hurry up.”

“Four-six mixed-river dragon, I bet big!” A fierce-looking old man slapped the table.

This was Zuo Yuesheng. He had five or six paper slips on his face.

“Four-one full-plate of stars, I bet big,” a hesitant, nervous voice said.

This was Lu Jing. He had at least seventy or eighty paper slips on his face… they even covered his eyes, forcing him to peek through the gaps.

“Four-three flying geese, I… I bet!” a person who looked calm and composed, but was secretly calculating in his sleeve, said.

This was Tao Rong, Elder Tao. With a stroke of his beard and an air of immortal grace, he was the only one of the four with a clean face.

“Four reds, four points, a full house of spring.” Chou Bodeng’s hand on the dice cup slowly moved up. “I bet… big.”

In dice games with multiple dice, the principle of “mixed colors are valuable” is generally followed, meaning that it is valuable for the four dice to show the same color, with red being the most valuable. The gambling world’s Registry of Red Throws calls the roll of four red four-point dice “Full House of Spring,” the most valuable roll.

The dice cup was lifted, revealing four dice neatly arranged, red faces up, all showing four points.

It was indeed a “Full House of Spring.”

“Fuck! It’s real! Four reds, four points! We won, we won!” Zuo Yuesheng leaped up, shouting, “Elder Tao, quick, quick, as we agreed before, if you lose, it’s triple the penalty.”

Elder Tao Rong trembled, nearly pulling out the few strands of his hard-grown goatee again.

“…Ahem, ahem.”

Tao Rong coughed forcefully, trying to remind these little rascals that he was old and they needed to give an old man some face.

Unfortunately, his hint was too subtle. Lu Jing, on the side, didn’t get it at all. He enthusiastically picked up a brush and, on a piece of Xuan paper, drew a series of world-shaking, ghost-wailing talismans. Then he pressed it into some paste, held it up, and asked politely:

“Elder Tao, where would you like me to stick this?”

“…Wherever you like.”

Elder Tao Rong gave up, speaking helplessly.

With three slaps, Lu Jing unceremoniously plastered the paper slips directly onto Elder Tao Rong’s forehead and both cheeks, creating a “heaven, earth, and man” arrangement.

“Come, come, let’s continue.”

Chou Bodeng, his smile unwavering, closed the dice cup and was about to shake the dice again.

“Ahem, ahem, ahem.” Elder Tao Rong, with three paper slips on his face, coughed heavily and theatrically, then stood up, rubbing his lower back. “Oh, my, oh, my. I’m getting old, I’m getting old. The wind at this bow is too strong. This old man must go and rest. You young ones, carry on.”

“Strong wind?” Lu Jing, who was recording the wins and losses, nearly let his brush slip. “You call this wind strong?”

Strong winds on a flying boat were normally quite common, but Elder Tao’s “Heavenly Snow” boat had a formation carved at the bow to ensure that only an “immortal wind,” gentle enough to make one’s robes flutter and gray hair lift slightly, would blow, not a “demonic wind” that would mess up one’s hair and clothes.

Chou Bodeng had a sharp eye. As soon as he boarded the flying boat, he had taken a liking to this prime spot. While Elder Tao was still proudly explaining to these “honored guests” how elegant and profound the Heavenly Snow boat was, the guests had already swarmed the table at the bow. Young Pavilion Master Zuo was carving dice, Young Master Lu was cutting paper, and Martial Grand-Ancestor Chou was setting the rules… In the blink of an eye, the elegant Heavenly Snow was drowned in the sound of dice clattering in a cup.

Elder Tao Rong watched for a moment, his beard trembling with heartache.

But these three, though young, held high status, especially Chou Bodeng, the Martial Grand-Ancestor of Taiyi. It wasn’t appropriate to scold them directly. So he came up with a plan to “teach through fun,” relying on his cultivation and sharp hearing to play dice with them, let them suffer a little, and then guide them back to the right path.

He never expected that instead of a “prodigal son’s return,” it would be a “failure to preserve his integrity in old age.”

“The wind of the heavens, it really is so strong,” Chou Bodeng said softly. “My sleeves are so heavy they can’t even be lifted by the breeze.”

“Oh, my, oh, my.”

Elder Tao Rong’s “oh mys” sounded even more convincing. He even took out a cane, tapping it on the deck as he turned to head for the cabin.

“My old cold legs are acting up again. This old man must go lie down.”

“Are the elders of your Mountain Sea Pavilion such sore losers?” Chou Bodeng turned to look at Zuo Yuesheng. “He just turns and runs when he’s about to lose?”

“Don’t generalize!” Zuo Yuesheng said, dissatisfied. “This one is definitely a cunning scoundrel among them.”

Lu Jing snickered.

Elder Tao Rong suddenly went deaf, pretending not to hear anything as he scurried back to his cabin with his cane.

***

“Elder!”

Elder Tao Rong had prepared a bellyful of emotional and logical arguments. As soon as he stepped into the flying boat’s cabin, before he could even open his mouth, Lou Jiang greeted him with a solemn face, immediately asking:

“Regarding the matter of the shadow puppets in Fu City, Lou Jiang has many questions and hopes the Elder can provide some answers.”

As he spoke, he subtly added, “Elder Tao, you have suppressed the Undying City and guarded Hopeless Cliff. You are the one in the Mountain Sea Pavilion who knows the most about the Great Wilderness. The puppetry art came from the Great Wilderness. If even you cannot answer my questions, I don’t know who else to ask.”

“Nonsense,” Elder Tao chided. “Which of the Grand Elders isn’t more knowledgeable than I? How would this old man dare to boast! But… then again, the Grand Elders are not people you juniors can easily meet. Fine! Fine, tell me what your questions are.”

If you really “dare not boast,” then smooth out the wrinkles on your face and stop grinning like a chrysanthemum!

Lou Jiang grumbled inwardly but accepted with humility, nodding repeatedly as he led Elder Tao into the Purification Room.

“Elder, please take a look.”

Lou Jiang placed three jade boxes on the table.

Elder Tao opened them one by one. The first jade box contained a few strands of silver Soul Thread. The second held a shrunken, damaged formation diagram in a Mustard Seed Box, composed of iron pillars, chains, and a Bronze Evil-Warding Suppression Bell—if Chou Bodeng were here, he would recognize it as the former Fu City Diviner’s Myriad Phenomena Eight Cycles Subduing Clarity Formation, which Lou Jiang had somehow managed to pry up and collect entirely after the fact. The last box, however, contained a piece of cyan-gold iron.

While listening to Lou Jiang recount the events of that day in great detail, Elder Tao twirled the Soul Thread, examined the formation diagram, and finally picked up the cyan-gold iron piece.

“Elder,” Lou Jiang placed the shattered Green Emperor Mirror on the table as well, “before leaving the Mountain Sea Pavilion, the Pavilion Master had Master Mo seal a formation in the Green Emperor Mirror to trace the Soul Thread. But after I arrived in Fu City, the Green Emperor Mirror never reacted. Why is that?”

Elder Tao put down the cyan-gold iron piece, turned the mirror over, and glanced at the back.

“Master Mo’s formation diagram was not carved incorrectly, but he was negligent.”

“Negligent in what way?” Lou Jiang pressed.

“This formation diagram can only detect Soul Threads in the early stages of soul planting. If the Soul Thread has been growing for over a hundred years, it’s useless,” Elder Tao said. “Soul planting, soul planting, what is being planted is actually resentment and unwillingness. Love and hate in the heart, that is the seed. Think of those whose relatives were killed. Upon first hearing the bad news, their eyes would turn red, or they would beat their heads on the ground, their great anger and grief obvious. But as time passes, the grief and anger will be put away, taking root in the bottom of their hearts instead.”

“In this world, the deeper and older the hatred, the more it is silent and expressionless, the more it is understated. Once the Soul Thread matures, the hatred of the dead soul becomes wisps and strands, and you can no longer see it directly.”

Elder Tao took out an old yellow bamboo root pipe and tapped it on the table. A dark red ember ignited in the pipe. He took a slow puff, and blue smoke curled up, blurring his aged, wrinkled face.

Lou Jiang’s heart stirred.

He had heard the Pavilion Master say that Elder Tao had guarded the Undying City in his youth. Later, something happened, and almost all the Immortal Sect disciples guarding the Undying City at that time died for their cause… Only Elder Tao was carried back to the Mountain Sea Pavilion by a senior brother.

“Elder, look at this formation.” Lou Jiang changed the subject, pointing to the damaged Myriad Phenomena Subduing Clarity Formation in the second jade box. “Pillars as eyes, chains as patterns, and a suspended bell to set the rhythm. This style of formation looks like it’s from the Heavenly Works Mansion. Could this Soul Thread matter be related to the Heavenly Works Mansion?”

Elder Tao tapped his pipe, knocking out some ash.

“It’s hard to say,” Elder Tao mused. “This matter, upon closer inspection, does have some connection to the Heavenly Works Mansion. But whether the Heavenly Works Mansion was actually involved is hard to say.”

“What connection?” Lou Jiang asked.

“Three thousand five hundred and sixty years ago, the Heavenly Works Mansion expelled an elder—the very traitor who killed to seize spirits and forcefully refined evil weapons,” Elder Tao took another puff of his pipe, frowning. “He was an unprecedented genius in the Heavenly Works Mansion. The concept of ‘pillars as eyes, chains as patterns, a suspended bell to set the rhythm, and a formation that spans heaven and earth’ was his proposal. He was taken in as a disciple by the Heavenly Works Mansion Lord, treated like a son, and was even betrothed to the lord’s daughter. But in the end, he killed his wife and betrayed his master, becoming an outcast. At that time, all the Immortal Sects jointly ordered his name to be erased from the annals of every continent. In official and unofficial histories, this person no longer existed.”

“Did this person die?” Lou Jiang asked with disgust.

Elder Tao sneered. “If that bunch of oafs from the Heavenly Works Mansion had managed to kill him, why would they have sealed their gates and hidden from the world for three thousand years? That traitor later entered the Great Wilderness… This formation looks a bit like the style of that Heavenly Works Mansion traitor. If Ge Qing was really him, we’ll have to pay a visit to the Heavenly Works Mansion sooner or later. Let the Pavilion Master worry about this mess. Hmph, I’ll have to scold the Pavilion Master again when I get back. What kind of crappy mission did he arrange for you? Isn’t this just deliberately trying to get you killed?”

Lou Jiang broke out in a cold sweat, thinking, Even without this matter, you still point at the Pavilion Master’s nose and curse him every few days. Stop using me as a pretext.

He hurriedly changed the subject again, asking about another matter.

“Also, about…” Lou Jiang hesitated for a moment, “About the matter of Martial Grand-Ancestor of Taiyi.”

Elder Tao’s expression changed slightly. He was about to say, This honored guest is of a similar age to you, I think it’s better if you accompany him…

“…Ge Qing served as the City Diviner of Fu City for nearly four hundred years. Although his character was corrupt, his talent for cultivation was indeed rare, and his knowledge was extensive and varied. Even an ordinary elder from our Mountain Sea Pavilion might not have been able to kill him. However,” Lou Jiang paused, “that day, Elder Chou single-handedly interrupted Fu City’s blood sacrifice and destroyed Ge Qing with a single formation-breaking move. But, whether before or after, this disciple carefully observed Elder Chou, and his cultivation is indeed only at the Mind Illumination Stage. This disciple cannot understand how he did it.”

Elder Tao relaxed and slowly took another puff of his pipe.

“The Martial Grand-Ancestor of Taiyi… you don’t need to worry about him, boy,” Elder Tao said slowly. “That’s Taiyi’s business. He’s an honored guest of Taiyi; just be respectful to him.”

Lou Jiang had a bad feeling. He quickly stood up and bowed to Elder Tao. “Elder, this disciple remembers he still needs to write a letter to the Pavilion Master to report, so I will take my leave now.”

“Wait,” Elder Tao tapped him on the shoulder with his pipe. “The Pavilion Master is busy with the Hundred Clans’ southern expedition and their request to pass through Qing Province. Don’t bother him.”

“Pass through Qing Province?” Lou Jiang was shocked. “How could the Pavilion Master agree?”

“He had no choice,” Elder Tao sighed. “The Hundred Clans are foolish and rich… They offered a lot, so the Pavilion Master agreed.”

“…” Lou Jiang thought that Young Pavilion Master Zuo was truly a chip off the old block. “Then, Elder, this disciple will go cultivate!”

“There’s plenty of time for cultivation. Things that are too rigid break easily. A balance of work and rest is the way to go long,” Elder Tao said with fatherly affection. “I see you, boy, cultivating every day in the Mountain Sea Pavilion, almost like that bunch of rotten wood from the Taiyi Sect. It’s rare for this old man to be here. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Go on, go and be with the young ones!”

Lou Jiang’s face changed drastically. “Elder! That’s the Martial Grand-Ancestor of Taiyi! I am but a mere disciple of humble status. Having me accompany such an honored guest will make Taiyi think our Mountain Sea Pavilion is not respectful enough… Most importantly, Elder, I don’t think this is a balance of work and rest. This is an unprecedented hardship and danger!”

“Young man, do not be afraid of the long and perilous road,” Elder Tao patted his shoulder forcefully, sending him flying out with a single palm strike. “You must train more!”

Lou Jiang stumbled to a halt in the corridor. The door to the Purification Room slammed shut behind him with a thud.

The wind blew in, filling his sleeves with sorrow.

***

“Young Master Chou, you’re really something.”

Zuo Yuesheng and Lu Jing looked towards the cabin, chuckling.

Just now, when they were playing dice, the winner drank and the loser got a paper slip stuck on them. Halfway through, Elder Tao had come over and said he wanted to join.

The young masters thought it would be more lively, so they agreed. But as it turned out, that old fox Elder Tao, relying on his cultivation and sharp hearing to distinguish the dice, was dominating the gambling table. Zuo Yuesheng and Lu Jing tried to cheat and trip him up in secret, but their cultivation was low and their skills were lacking, so they all failed.

After getting two paper slips stuck on him, the somewhat lazy Chou Bodeng decisively pulled Zuo Yuesheng aside, rolled up his own sleeves, and shook the cup himself.

“How did you do it?” Lu Jing asked Chou Bodeng curiously.

Chou Bodeng lined up the four stone dice on the table and asked with a grin, “Want to know?”

Zuo Yuesheng and Lu Jing nodded repeatedly like chickens pecking at rice.

Chou Bodeng held out his right hand to them. “Hand over the winnings.”

“…You are known by the company you keep,” Lu Jing muttered, pushing two bottles of pills towards Chou Bodeng. This was what the three of them had agreed on in private: whoever made the old man Elder Tao lose face first would win. “Why do I feel like you’ve picked up Fatty Zuo’s skill of plucking a feather from a passing goose?”

“Lu Shiyi, I’m warning you! Don’t slander me!” Zuo Yuesheng wouldn’t have it, tossing a few Lightning-Containing Pearls to Chou Bodeng. “What do you mean, picked up my skill of plucking a feather from a passing goose? This guy swindled me out of eighty thousand taels of gold the moment we met in Fu City. His heart is much blacker than mine.”

“Praise be, praise be.”

Chou Bodeng took the items and then tapped on the table.

Zuo Yuesheng and Lu Jing’s eyes slowly widened.

A single wooden puppet climbed up from under the table along the tablecloth. It was about a palm’s length, made of heavy wood, and moved lightly and nimbly. Once on the table, it went to steadily lift the wine jar, which was several times its size, and pour wine into the empty cup in front of Chou Bodeng.

“Wow!! What is this!” Lu Jing exclaimed in amazement.

The wine filled the cup, rising steadily. Just as it was about to reach the rim, the puppet stopped, righted the jar, and placed it to the side.

“It looks like a Spirit Puppet. It’s said that if you carve a puppet from the Ruomu Wood of the heavenly winter and have sufficient cultivation, you can grant it intelligence. But the method of carving puppets and imbuing them with spirit seems to be known by very few,” Zuo Yuesheng said, curiously reaching out to poke it.

Chou Bodeng knocked his hand away with a brush handle with a smack.

“The roll just now was actually a four-three flying geese, but it was tampered with from under the table.”

“That’s amazing,” Zuo Yuesheng’s eyes gleamed, eager to try. “Young Master Chou, where did you get this Spirit Puppet? Hey, hey, Young Master Chou, why don’t we go to the casino later? I know where the most money is. You have your Spirit Puppet cheat, Lu Jing and I will cover for you, and then the three of us can get rich overnight!”

“Isn’t the biggest casino in the world your family’s?” Chou Bodeng tucked the puppet back into his sleeve. “You cheat to win your own family’s money, aren’t you afraid your dad will beat you to death?”

“Well…”

Zuo Yuesheng thought about it and felt that was true, reluctantly giving up on such a great way to make money.

Beside him, Lu Jing suddenly realized something was very strange…

Over the past few days, Lu Shiyi had come to know Young Master Chou’s character quite well. In trivial matters, his practical skills were appallingly bad. And for some strange reason, he would rather walk around with a messy head of hair that looked like it had been gnawed by a dog than let anyone else help him.

“That’s strange,” Lu Jing couldn’t help but ask, “How come your hair is neat today? Who combed it for you?”

“I did it myself,” Chou Bodeng said without batting an eye. “This Young Master is brilliant. The mere matter of combing hair, I learned it in a flash.”

Zuo Yuesheng and Lu Jing both spat, “Pah!”

“Something’s fishy!” Zuo Yuesheng said decisively.

“Definitely something fishy!” Lu Jing asserted. “Maybe…”

“Listen,” Chou Bodeng interrupted them. “Listen, there’s a sound from below.”

“Young Master Chou, your attempt to change the subject is a bit too blunt,” Lu Jing grumbled. “You don’t even have a transition, you just wrench it away…”

Lu Jing was about to ramble on when Zuo Yuesheng tugged him.

“Wait a minute, it seems like…” Zuo Yuesheng pricked up his ears. “It seems like there really is something singing down there…”

Lu Jing was stunned. No way, he thought.

Never mind that they were in the sky; how heart-wrenchingly would someone below have to sing for them to hear it? And besides, the Miasma Moon wasn’t over yet, and the surroundings were still thick with miasma! They could leave because Elder Tao’s cultivation was deep, and he had placed a protective barrier on the Heavenly Snow boat to repel the miasma.

So what kind of person would be singing in the miasma fog below the flying boat?

They must be sick.

Full of suspicion, Lu Jing focused and listened carefully. The Heavenly Snow boat lived up to its name, flying as silently as a snowflake. Once the sound of shaking dice and gambling stopped, all that was left was the vast emptiness of the world, the wind whistling like water under ice… and there really was a song! A song that seemed to rise straight up from the ground!

“Silly, silly, silly, crazy, crazy, crazy, a hidden Kui Dragon, seemingly false yet true.“

Chou Bodeng deciphered the lyrics, his brow furrowing slightly as he imperceptibly touched the Kui Dragon Bracelet on his left wrist.

“Enough, enough, enough…” Zuo Yuesheng had a harder time making it out, but he managed. “Like a dream yet not, it’s all empty in a flash.“

“How can you all hear it so clearly?” Lu Jing once again had the feeling that he was the only fool. He secretly circulated his spiritual energy, concentrating it in his ears, determined to hear the next line clearly.

The moment the spiritual energy reached his ears, the sounds of the world became abruptly clear.

The next moment—

“Help!!! Ahhh!!!”

A mournful howl, like a final, desperate cry, shot up into the sky. The sound was so loud and the scream so tragic that it startled Ye Cang, who was mending his sleeve on the other side of the deck, into stabbing his finger with the needle. Lou Jiang, who was dawdling in the cabin, shot up with a swoosh. Elder Tao, who was feigning a cold in his room, knocked the lit end of his pipe onto his back.

“—Benefactors in the sky! This humble monk! Can’t hold on any longer!!”