Zhang Laifu dashed all the way out of the manor, intending to head first to the Lin residence to find Lin Shaocong.
He was guarding the manor on the Lin family's behalf, and now a ruthless figure had moved in. He had to inform them to fulfill his duty.
Besides, he needed Lin Shaocong to send men over to reclaim the hat. That was his bowl...
Zhang Laifu suddenly shuddered, his train of thought cut short.
He Shengjun had sent him here to watch the place, and trouble had struck on his very first night. Wasn't that a bit too coincidental?
Could He Shengjun have anticipated that something would go wrong here, deliberately sending him to guard the manor?
*I know certain things about Lin Shaocong. Could they want to silence me?*
No, he couldn't go to the Lin family.
Where else could he go then?
Leave Heishakou altogether!
With money in hand now, a boat ticket was no problem. If he boarded from a different dock, there was no way he would run into people from Hunlong Stronghold again.
Zhang Laifu ran all the way into the city, another shudder running through him.
*Just leave like this?*
Lao Duozi said that if he didn't return tonight, something terrible would happen. Had he placed some spell on him?
Could he just be bluffing?
Even if he was only bluffing, could he really just walk away like this?
His bowl was still with that old man!
He had escaped death by a hair at Hunlong Stronghold just to end up with this bowl. Why should he let that old man take it?
Besides, he still owed Li Yunsheng a silver dollar!
Zhang Laifu pondered for a moment and ran toward Zhuzi Street.
Would he run into Lao Zheng again if he went there?
It shouldn't be that coincidental!
He had run into him the day before yesterday, so he shouldn't cross paths with him again today. Lao Zheng couldn't be squatting on Zhuzi Street every single day.
Li Yunsheng had just set up his roadside stall when, to his surprise, Zhang Laifu showed up.
"My friend, you haven't left?" Li Yunsheng had assumed Zhang Laifu had taken a boat out yesterday.
Zhang Laifu first took out a silver dollar. "This is to pay you back."
Li Yunsheng looked Zhang Laifu up and down. His clothes had been changed for new ones, and the grime on his face had been washed away; from the look of things, his fortunes had taken a turn for the better.
He didn't stand on ceremony and accepted the silver dollar. Then Zhang Laifu produced another coin. "This is an apology."
Li Yunsheng waved his hand. "I won't take this. We had an agreement back then; that matter is already behind us."
Zhang Laifu brought out yet another silver dollar. "This is yesterday's tuition."
"I definitely can't take that. It was just a chat between friends. Why ask for tuition?"
Zhang Laifu produced another silver dollar. "I want to learn more today."
Li Yunsheng pushed all the silver dollars back toward Zhang Laifu. "Brother Laifu, just ask whatever you like. Anything I can tell you, I'll do my best to share."
Zhang Laifu organized his thoughts. "I ran into someone last night."
"What kind of person?"
"Someone who could change faces. Among the three hundred and sixty trades, is there a trade for changing faces?"
Li Yunsheng smiled; this question was easy to answer. "There is! Clothing, food, shelter, travel, entertainment; farming, craftsmanship, education, medicine, miscellaneous trades—face-changing falls under the entertainment branch, a line within opera. Did you run into a craftsman?"
"I'm sure he's a craftsman." Zhang Laifu described how Lao Duozi had changed his face. "His face was pale and bloodless at first, but then color returned to it. His eyeballs were completely black, but then turned white. There were bulging veins all over his face, but then they all vanished..."
Li Yunsheng cut him off. "That's not the face-changing I was talking about. Where did you meet this person?"
"The Lin family's old manor."
"Which old manor?"
"Over twenty li west outside the city, the old manor on the desolate hill."
Li Yunsheng's brow knitted slightly. "That's the old manor in Baicaodang. What did you go there for?"
"To put food on the table, to earn a living as a caretaker. I can't leave Heishakou right now, so guarding the Lin manor was my only option."
Li Yunsheng didn't press about how he got the job; he only wanted to inform Zhang Laifu of his current plight. "My friend, you're in grave trouble. That old Lin manor is haunted. The thing you met wasn't human at all."
Zhang Laifu wasn't particularly surprised; he had already guessed seventy or eighty percent of it. "Brother Li, you're an expert at catching ghosts. Can you lend me a hand?"
Li Yunsheng looked at Zhang Laifu, silent for a long moment.
Zhang Laifu brought out all his remaining silver dollars. "You're a craftsman, and you're also a businessman. Let's make a deal. If you don't think it's enough, I'll find a way to add more. If you don't want to take the business, that's fine too..."
As he spoke, Zhang Laifu shuddered once more.
Li Yunsheng stared at Zhang Laifu for a moment. "Brother Laifu, you're sick."
"Sick?" Zhang Laifu touched his own forehead; it didn't feel hot.
Touching it proved nothing. If he had a fever, he wouldn't be able to tell on himself anyway. But he truly did feel cold. He was wearing padded cotton clothes today, yet felt colder than yesterday when wearing only a single long gown.
"Brother Li, can we make this deal?" Zhang Laifu wanted to snatch his bowl back.
Li Yunsheng picked up a talisman paper. "Don't be in a rush. Let's cure your illness first."
Zhang Laifu took the talisman paper and asked, "This illness of mine was caused by that old man, wasn't it?"
Li Yunsheng nodded. "This is yin energy corrosion. Right now the yin energy is still traveling across your skin. Before long, it will seep into your flesh. Once it reaches your internal organs, your life cannot be saved."
Zhang Laifu thought for a moment and said to Li Yunsheng, "I reckon by nightfall, this yin energy will reach my internal organs."
Li Yunsheng observed Zhang Laifu's condition and made a quick calculation. "Just about, in fact. You understand medicine too?"
"I received a higher education, so I know a little." Inwardly, Zhang Laifu cursed Lao Duozi. No wonder that old ghost had sent him into town—he had prepared a backup plan all along.
He made me return before dark because he knew that after dark, the yin energy would take my life!
The old bastard hadn't killed him because he needed someone to run errands for him.
"How do I use the talisman paper?" Zhang Laifu shuddered again.
Li Yunsheng asked, "Where does it feel uncomfortable?"
"Nowhere in particular..." Zhang Laifu only felt cold.
Li Yunsheng thought for a moment. "Grip the talisman paper tightly in your right hand—make sure you hold on tight!"
Zhang Laifu clutched the talisman paper tight, while Li Yunsheng took out another talisman and placed it on the table.
Incense and candles were lit all around.
With everything set up, Li Yunsheng tied his clothes snug, lifted an axe with his right hand, and brandished it before Zhang Laifu.
Zhang Laifu inquired, "Your trade doesn't usually perform surgery, does it?"
"Brother Laifu, this is no joking matter!" Li Yunsheng raised the axe and cautioned him once more. "Clutch that talisman tight! The time to fight for your life has come!"
Zhang Laifu wasn't joking; he was genuinely a bit terrified. "Aren't you a doctor? Wielding such a big axe and telling me we have to fight for our lives?"
"This yin energy is out of the ordinary!" Li Yunsheng's voice rose sharply. "Brother Laifu, brace yourself—this time, we're marching onto a battlefield!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Li Yunsheng raised his right arm, cleaved into the table with a blow of the axe, and began to chant:
"Ghosts and evil spirits, cease your strife,
Cease tormenting the good and pure of life!
To purge all wickedness and save mankind,
Eighty myriad divine soldiers march behind!
What is your family name, what is your given name?
From which village and courtyard do you claim?
Beneath the blade dies no nameless ghost;
Declare your kin and face my host!
Right conquers wrong by Heaven's decree,
An eternal cycle that shall ever be!
Brightly the Three Realms illuminate the skies,
Sun and moon align as heaven and earth judge all ties!
The green lamp pierces the night with unyielding light,
The iron talisman quells souls with divine might!
A single true word shatters wraith and fiend,
Nine Heavens' thunderfire burns the illusions of the damned!"
In Li Yunsheng's hands, the axe chopped horizontally and hacked vertically with rushing gusts of wind, sending incense ash and paper ash fluttering high and low over the table.
Zhang Laifu felt every hair on his body stand on end. In his ears, he could faintly hear the rumbling of drums and the neighing of warhorses.
It seemed the eighty myriad heavenly soldiers truly had arrived.
Chapter 23