Guess What Time It Is?

Less than two li from the old manor, Zhang Laifu ran until his face turned sickly green, on the verge of vomiting bile. Xiao Zhuzi was also struggling to keep up; his trade was not well-suited for long foot chases. "Chief Yu, I don't think this is the right way." Lao Yu did not stop, tossing back casually, "What's wrong with it?" "Baicaodang is just ahead. If that kid heads into the Lin old manor, we really shouldn't chase him." Lao Yu said, "Why can't we?" Xiao Zhuzi knew Lao Yu was not afraid of such things, but he was terrified. "Chief Yu, my trade is different from yours. The vicious ghost in the Lin old manor is notoriously vicious. I don't have your skills—going there would just be throwing my life away!" "I know he's vicious!" Lao Yu had also heard of the Lin old manor's reputation. "But this job has to be done. We absolutely cannot let this man named Zhang Laifu get away." Seeing the old manor nearing, Xiao Zhuzi halted. "Chief Yu, are you certain you can subdue that old ghost?" Lao Yu sorted out the tools in his hands. "If you ask whether I can subdue that vicious ghost, I have no certainty. But what we're here to capture is Zhang Laifu. I'll pin down the ghost while you take the man—that shouldn't be too hard." *** The talisman paper in his hand was practically in shreds as Zhang Laifu bolted into the old manor. He had just reached the front courtyard, before he could even catch his breath, when Lao Duozi suddenly appeared before him and asked, "Did you buy the tobacco leaves?" Zhang Laifu replied, "I didn't buy tobacco leaves. I ran into enemies in the city." Lao Duozi nodded. "You bought the top-grade leaves as I told you, right?" Zhang Laifu reached out a hand and waved it in front of Lao Duozi. Lao Duozi did not react at all. He could not see. Zhang Laifu answered again, "I didn't buy tobacco leaves. Enemies have tracked me right to the door!" Lao Duozi nodded again. "Cut all the leaves. Cut them nice and fine, and mix them with good ingredients." He could not hear! Unable to hear or see, could this Lao Duozi defeat Lao Yu? Regardless of whether he could win, as long as they clashed, Zhang Laifu would have a chance to escape with his life. Lao Duozi reached a hand out toward Zhang Laifu. "Where's the tobacco? Give it to me, hurry!" Zhang Laifu had no idea how to respond; now he was actually hoping Lao Yu would hurry up and arrive. "Where did you put the tobacco?" Lao Duozi's eyeballs suddenly turned pitch-black, and dark green veins bulged, snaking across his face one after another. Just as Zhang Laifu was wondering how to communicate with Lao Duozi, he was jerked off balance—someone was tugging his clothes from behind. He looked back. Xiao Zhuzi had entered the courtyard, holding the end of a thread, the other end connected to Zhang Laifu's padded coat. Lao Duozi sensed that someone had entered and shouted, "Who are you people?" Xiao Zhuzi shouted back, "We're not here for you!" Lao Yu snapped, "Cut the nonsense, he can't hear!" Lao Duozi lunged to grab at Xiao Zhuzi, but Lao Yu suddenly materialized, wielding a sword over a foot long. Impaled on the tip of the blade was a talisman paper, pointing straight at Lao Duozi's face. Borne by the wind, the talisman slapped against Lao Duozi's face, forcing him an immediate step back. "A Heavenly Master!" Color drained from Lao Duozi's face, dark veins writhing back and forth, while his pupils turned blood-red. Heavenly Master—one of the three hundred and sixty trades, an orthodox profession of catching ghosts and capturing demons! Holding the sword, Lao Yu began to chant, "Wu ya, wu ya, wu ya ya ya..." Zhang Laifu could not understand a single word of what he was saying, but Lao Duozi heard it loud and clear. Lao Yu meant: "This Yu is merely passing through your esteemed grounds to apprehend a criminal. If I have caused any offense, I beg your generous pardon!" Lao Duozi gave a sinister chuckle. "And what if I don't pardon you?" Whoosh! Lao Yu pointed a finger at the blade's tip, and the talisman paper burst into flames! Flames drove the paper ashes onto Lao Duozi's face, freezing him in his tracks. He could not see where Lao Yu was, nor did he know where the paper ashes had come from; he only felt as if a rope was binding him where he stood. Lao Duozi was pinned down by Lao Yu—this was the powerful suppression the Heavenly Master trade held over departed souls. Zhang Laifu still wanted to run for his life, but Xiao Zhuzi gave him no chance; the padded coat on his body was bound fast by strands of silk thread. He stripped off the padded coat. Beneath it was a shirt. He had barely taken two steps when he realized a flurry of thread ends was sprouting from the shirt, clutched once again in Xiao Zhuzi's hand. "Don't waste your energy," Xiao Zhuzi sneered. "Even if you strip completely naked, these threads will burrow right into your flesh." With that, Xiao Zhuzi yanked the threads, jerking Zhang Laifu off balance. Such were craftsmen. In a craftsman's hands, ordinary people were like playthings to be manipulated at will. Zhang Laifu had managed to hold out until now entirely thanks to the talisman Li Yunsheng had given him, relying on swift speed to barely contend with Xiao Zhuzi. Now the talisman was practically shredded; he had no idea how much longer he could hold on. Zhang Laifu looked over at Lao Yu and Lao Duozi. Those two were in a standoff; perhaps he could find a way out through them. Xiao Zhuzi was preparing to ensnare Zhang Laifu with a ball of thread, but Lao Yu grew anxious. "Don't waste time talking to him—kill him right now!" Kill him? Xiao Zhuzi had no desire to do that. The chief wanted him alive. Yuan Kuilong wanted to know how Zhang Laifu had escaped, how skilled Lin Shaocong was, and how Lao Liang had ultimately perished. What good was bringing back a corpse? What a massive credit it would be to bring back a living captive! Xiao Zhuzi was a craftsman too; he did not want to remain a mere fire-blade scout forever. Now that Lao Yu had pinned down the vicious ghost, Xiao Zhuzi was confident he could capture Zhang Laifu alive. Yet Lao Yu did not want Zhang Laifu alive. He could not let Zhang Laifu ruin Lao Song's business, but he had no way of explaining this to Xiao Zhuzi. Xiao Zhuzi reined in Zhang Laifu, hauling him hard toward the gateway. Clutching the talisman tightly, Zhang Laifu circled around Xiao Zhuzi. "Damn it, still struggling!" Xiao Zhuzi exerted force, pulling Zhang Laifu off balance again. But Zhang Laifu did not fall; stumbling, he circled behind Xiao Zhuzi and flung a clay knife at him. Xiao Zhuzi dodged the knife and spat. "You bastard, you dare fight back? I'll cripple your arm!" The threads indeed wrapped around Zhang Laifu's arm. Just as Xiao Zhuzi was about to pull, Zhang Laifu circled half a step further and ran over next to Lao Duozi. Xiao Zhuzi yanked the thread, throwing Zhang Laifu off balance once more. This pull was so forceful that Zhang Laifu nearly crashed to the ground. The talisman paper in his hand had disintegrated completely, and Zhang Laifu's stamina was nearly spent; his speed visibly slowed. Xiao Zhuzi added two more threads, intending to bind Zhang Laifu tight. Summoning all his strength, Zhang Laifu circled half a turn again behind Xiao Zhuzi. Fearing that Zhang Laifu would throw another knife, Xiao Zhuzi yanked the threads without even looking. This hard yank pulled taut, sending both Zhang Laifu and Lao Yu stumbling! Xiao Zhuzi was a fire-blade scout who had committed plenty of murders and kidnappings. Zhang Laifu was just an ordinary man, so by all rights, capturing him should not have been this troublesome. But Xiao Zhuzi had never anticipated that this fellow would be so slippery, dodging and weaving until he had wound up right beside Lao Yu. The tangle of threads snarled together, trapping both Lao Yu and Zhang Laifu. "Zhang Laifu, you little bastard! You should've died long ago! You just watch—I'll chop you into eighteen pieces!" Lao Yu struggled to maintain his stance, for he still had to keep Lao Duozi under control. "Yu the Diviner, you son of a bitch, this time it's you who deserves to die! In a moment I'll help you count to see if it's really eighteen pieces!" Using the tangles around him, Zhang Laifu wrestled relentlessly against Lao Yu. Lao Yu was about to lose his stance, so Xiao Zhuzi hastily let go of all the thread ends. Freed, Zhang Laifu stepped forward and kicked Lao Yu. Lao Yu dodged the kick, but that dodge broke his stance. His stance had only slackened slightly, something he normally could have recovered, but Lao Yu never imagined that the vicious ghost before him was so terrifyingly formidable. He could move again. Lao Yu aimed the peach-wood sword at Lao Duozi once more, but Lao Duozi's figure vanished abruptly. Clack-clack-clack... What was making that noise? Lao Yu looked back. Lao Duozi was right behind him, winding an alarm clock. Click-click-click-click-click... From the cadence of the sound, one could tell the spring had been wound tight in just two turns. Lao Duozi stroked the dial and smiled. The three hands on the face began to rotate. In reverse of an ordinary clock, this alarm clock's hour hand moved the fastest, followed by the minute hand, while the second hand moved the slowest. Lao Duozi asked Lao Yu, "Guess what time it is now? One o'clock will let you die a bit slower. Three o'clock will let you die faster. But if it's two o'clock, you'll have to suffer quite a bit more."