Chapter 27

The rickshaw slowly passed over the bluestone street, and all the passersby avoided and dodged. Occasionally, when a porter's pace was slow, a few soldiers would roughly drag him and throw him to the ground, scattering the mountain goods and fruits all over the street...

In these chaotic times, those who could sit in a rickshaw were usually big merchants, warlords, or officials. But only the warlords and generals had armed soldiers to clear the way—how could they care about a mere commoner?

The rickshaw stopped abruptly in front of an inn with a wooden sign that read "Rongcheng Inn." The adjutant sitting in the front quickly jumped down and opened the rear door, holding his hand over the top of the door and extending the other as a handhold, saying, "Be careful, take your time..."

"Click!"

A graceful woman in a dark green qipao descended from the rickshaw, wearing a pair of Western sunglasses. When she removed them, it turned out to be a beautiful woman—though she was no longer young, her charm had not diminished. The fine wrinkles on her snow-white skin added a seductive allure, and her eyes were as blue as a lake, bright and calm, yet marked by the traces of life's vicissitudes.

A middle-aged man in military uniform stepped out from the other side of the rickshaw, exuding a scholarly air with an icy sternness. He walked two steps toward the woman and extended his hand, calling out, "Qing'er, you can stay here today. I'll go home to see my father and stay overnight. Starting tomorrow, I'll stay here with you, okay?"

As he spoke, a rare tenderness appeared in his eyes.

The woman lazily reached out and took his hand, smiling, "My dear young master, when have your arrangements ever been wrong? When have I ever refused? If you go home today and I don't get angry, you must agree to one condition!"

"Ah! Qing'er, you..." The middle-aged man stepped closer, lowering his voice, "Since I promised not to touch any woman for three years, I won't! This is going home, not somewhere else. Do you think I would misbehave? Surely you don't want your maids to follow me?"

"Hehe!" Qing'er gave him a flirtatious glance, scolding, "That's not certain! Men always have some tricks that women can't imagine. If you don't agree, forget about the three-year agreement and the marriage!"

"Alright! Alright! I agree, okay? My dear lady?" The middle-aged officer hurriedly responded, "I'll have your maids follow me, not leaving me for a moment—how's that?"

As he spoke, he waved his hand, "Come, bring Qingmei and Hongtao from the back, and have them go home with me..."

"Wait!" Qing'er, seeing him agree, instead showed a cunning smile, gently pulling his collar, and said softly, "I didn't say I wanted them to follow you. Why are you in such a hurry? Actually, I have something else in mind!"

"Huh?"

Qing'er's eyes were like deep, clear water, filled with infinite charm, "Actually, it's very simple. You don't need to be so nervous. It's getting cold, so when you go home, just add an extra piece of clothing. That's all I ask!"

"Really?" The officer stood there for a moment, then understood her meaning. His heart warmed, and he reached out to embrace her, but she slipped away with a sway of her waist...

Qing'er stood at the inn's entrance, laughing, "Go on! I'm going to rest upstairs!"

The officer pointed at her, about to say something but stopped, turned around, and got back into the rickshaw, instructing, "Go, home!" Although his face was calm, a sense of joy and happiness filled the rickshaw...

***

Feng San and Zhi Zun Bao watched the entire scene from the window. Feng San couldn't help but marvel, "This woman is really something, a few words and she has the officer under her spell." As he spoke, he saw the waiter bringing the dishes and casually asked, "By the way, who is that? He looks like he's from our Rongcheng."

The waiter, busy serving the dishes, replied, "You don't know him? He's a big shot—the son of the head of the袍哥会 (Pao Ge Hui), now the big warlord of Xishan Province! His name is Luo Zihan, now known as General Luo!"

The name sounded familiar, and Zhi Zun Bao couldn't help but ask, "I've heard this name before, but I can't remember where..." He scratched his head, thinking, "When did I hear it?"

"You might not have heard of General Luo, but maybe your father has heard his nickname," the waiter laughed, "He's not much younger than my father. I heard he used to run around the streets naked, causing trouble and fighting... Right, they called him 'Donkey Egg' back then, and he was quite a troublemaker!"

"Wow!" Zhi Zun Bao and Feng San both whistled, then turned their attention to the dishes—hungry, who cares about irrelevant people?

"Oh, Donkey Egg..."

***

As the saying goes, when a person is hungry, food tastes especially delicious and is eaten quickly. Feng San and Zhi Zun Bao cleared the table in no time, then drank the rice wine like water...

A heavy drowsiness enveloped them, and they felt a strange softness in their limbs.

Back at the inn, they climbed into bed, and soon both were snoring loudly.

Over the past half year, Feng San had worked tirelessly for Cui Deyuan, losing 200 pounds and learning the basics, at least sorting out the 3,000 tools of the sect. Zhi Zun Bao wasn't idle either; besides his own studies, his master, Old Eight, had also become less lazy and started teaching him systematically.

The Five Wheel Sect, the most skilled among the Yin-Yang Masters in communicating with spirits, could predict future changes and the impermanence of the world through communication with the underworld. The ability to communicate with spirits determined one's own power.

For Zhi Zun Bao, this was like a bird entering the forest or a fish returning to the sea, making his studies easy and efficient. In just half a year, he had surpassed what others would take three to five years to achieve—perhaps this was the only advantage of being a ghost.

Tonight, something strange happened...

In his sleep, Zhi Zun Bao suddenly felt someone pushing him and calling, "Zhi Zun Bao, Zhi Zun Bao..." He opened his eyes and found himself standing three feet away from the bed!

And his body was still on the bed!

"Yin soul leaves the body, gather the soul and return to the body!" Zhi Zun Bao immediately recalled the incantation his master had taught him, realizing that his soul had left his body in his sleep. He quickly recited the spell—

Just as he was about to speak, he saw a black shadow move and a person step out.

The person was dressed in black, wearing a thousand-leaf boot, carrying a soul-chasing chain, and holding a soul-striking iron ruler. The cold smile on his face was familiar—this ghost had visited many times, drinking with his master at Lu Fatso's tavern. Zhi Zun Bao recognized him... Of course, he wouldn't remember, but this ghost had helped him find the ghost book, allowing Old Eight and Old Liu to lock his ghostly body!

"Hey! Uncle Mo Xiao," Zhi Zun Bao relaxed but was still puzzled, "Did you pull me out?"

Mo Xiao looked at Zhi Zun Bao, feeling extremely uneasy, as he knew some secrets from the underworld that he couldn't tell Old Eight. However, because of their past and present relationship, he had to do this—knowing the punishment for speaking out of turn, he thought for a long time and found this risky compromise.

Whether this method would work was unknown.

He nodded, "Yes, I did pull you out! Bao'er, I have something to show you, but I can't tell you anything. You have to understand and remember as much as you can. How much you tell your master and how much he understands is up to him. I won't say a word, do you understand?"

"Um!?" Zhi Zun Bao was confused, "Are you just showing me a trick?" He stared at him, puzzled, "Why do I need to tell my master? Is it related to him?"

"..." Mo Xiao coughed, "Don't pretend. Just go and see it yourself. When you return, your master will understand."

"Okay!" Zhi Zun Bao, seeing that he couldn't get more information, understood Mo Xiao's meaning and nodded obediently...

Mo Xiao led Zhi Zun Bao out of the inn and down the street, stopping at a deep courtyard with red bricks and green tiles. He drew two lines on the wall and shouted, "Yi!"

The wall showed no abnormality, but the vines and ivy suddenly oozed sap, which sizzled as it dripped to the ground. Then a blurred yellow talisman appeared in the wall crack.

He pulled Zhi Zun Bao through the wall into the courtyard.

Inside, the courtyard was crisscrossed with ditches and lush with trees. Everywhere there were Eight Trigram Yang mirrors and spirit treasures. Occasionally, there were portraits of Zhong Kui, Guan Yu, and other deities hanging and worshipped.

Mo Xiao led Zhi Zun Bao through the courtyard, often dodging the statues and spirit positions, but not caring about the magical tools and spirit treasures. He just pointed and drew in the air, saying "Yi" and moving on.

In the courtyard stood a small building, separated from other houses. The copper bells at the four corners jingled in the wind. Though it was midnight, the building was lit, and shadows moved inside, with occasional arguments.

Mo Xiao stopped.

He pointed to the small building, "This is it! When you go in, no matter what you see or hear, don't interfere. Just remember everything, especially names, places, dates, and times. Don't make any mistakes. When the rooster crows, no matter what's happening inside, you must come find me. I will return you to your body within the time it takes for a grain of millet to fall—do you understand the gravity of this?"

Zhi Zun Bao understood the importance, so he nodded, "I understand. I'll come back on time!"

"Good, go now!"

***

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