Lao Duozi asked Lao Yu what time it was now. Lao Yu was in no mood for guessing games. Taking advantage of Lao Duozi speaking, he hurriedly replaced the talisman paper, impaled it on the tip of his sword, and prepared to strike.
The talisman paper had only just caught fire when the flame suddenly went out.
Clang, clang, clang!
A flurry of knocking echoed from the front courtyard gate.
Xiao Zhuzi, not knowing who had arrived, glanced over his shoulder.
Lao Yu shouted, "Don't look back! Hurry up and kill Zhang Laifu! There's no one knocking outside—that old ghost is patting his own belly!"
Xiao Zhuzi did not understand. If this old ghost was patting his belly in the courtyard, why would the sound come from outside the gate?
Lao Yu had caught on. "This old man is a drum-maker! Run!"
A drum-maker was an artisan specializing in crafting great drums, skilled in selecting materials, shaping the hollow shell, mounting the hide, tuning the pitch, and numerous other steps. His mastery over sound was exquisite.
Realizing things had gone terribly wrong, Lao Yu turned to flee. Lao Duozi tapped his left hand against his right shoulder. With a muffled bang, Lao Yu collapsed on the spot, spitting up a mouthful of blood.
The drum-maker's ultimate technique: One Beat Sets the Tone.
Lao Yu was a craftsman, yet that single blow critically injured him; the gap between their tiers was far too vast.
Tugging at his silk threads, Xiao Zhuzi still wanted to drag Zhang Laifu along. Lao Duozi tilted his ear to gauge the direction, then turned toward Xiao Zhuzi. "Oh my, there's even a tailor here."
He had heard the sound of a needle threading.
Before Xiao Zhuzi could make sense of the situation—having never encountered a drum-maker before—another muffled thump echoed by his ear. Xiao Zhuzi shuddered, and his chest burst open.
Internal organs splattered across the ground. Xiao Zhuzi cast a glance at Zhang Laifu.
Zhang Laifu kicked Xiao Zhuzi, sending him tumbling down in front of him.
Zhang Laifu had heard both muffled thuds, yet he remained completely unscathed.
Lao Duozi had used his hearing to distinguish friend from foe, keeping the drum sounds from harming Zhang Laifu.
Just a moment ago, Lao Duozi had been unable to hear. How could he hear now?
Zhang Laifu noticed the alarm clock in Lao Duozi's hand. The clock had stopped, its minute and second hands both pointing at the twelve, and its hour hand pointing at the two.
Lao Duozi walked toward Lao Yu. "It's two o'clock now. Did you guess right?"
Lao Yu looked at the alarm clock in Lao Duozi's hand, unsure what purpose the thing served.
Lao Duozi smiled. "You're in for a world of suffering. Did you know that?"
Lao Yu struggled to his feet and tossed a bell into the air.
Catching ghosts was a Heavenly Master's trade, and he had plenty of methods. The bell swung midair; to an ordinary person, it sounded entirely unremarkable, but to a departed soul, it delivered a terrifying shock, stripping away the ability to move for a short time.
Yet Lao Duozi remained completely unaffected. He slapped himself across the forehead. The slap produced a crisp crack. The bell in midair shattered into pieces, and Lao Yu's left leg detonated along with it.
Lao Yu collapsed once more.
This time, despair took hold of him.
How could this be? He had weathered so many storms throughout his life, only to suffer such a crushing defeat over Zhang Laifu.
The kid was an idiot!
And now, for the sake of an idiot, was he going to lose his life here?
Lao Duozi stepped closer and asked Lao Yu, "What tier of Heavenly Master are you?"
Lao Yu gritted his teeth and said, "I'm on the verge of becoming a master craftsman."
Lao Duozi chuckled. "Doesn't that still make you a registered journeyman? Back when I was alive, someone like you wouldn't have lasted a single exchange against me. Did you eat a bear's heart and a leopard's gall, daring to come here looking for me?"
Lao Yu kept his head down in silence, his right hand groping constantly across the ground.
There were markings. A Heavenly Master had been here before—and a Heavenly Master of no small skill at that. That predecessor had calculated the figures here, but had only solved a little over eighty percent.
What had that earlier Heavenly Master been calculating?
Lao Yu's craft was not exceptionally high; he had not yet reached master craftsman, and wielding swords and drawing talismans were mediocre at best for him. But his reckoning skills were genuinely first-rate.
He scribbled and drew upon the ground, using the traces left by the previous Heavenly Master to continue the calculations. In this brief span of time, he worked out the remaining ten-plus percent.
He had calculated a fine prize!
How large was this thing?
Lao Yu pinched his fingers in careful calculation.
Not too large; he should be able to carry it.
How deep was it buried?
Lao Yu calculated again.
Not too deep either; he could certainly reach it.
This was his chance to turn defeat into victory!
Betraying nothing on his face, Lao Yu dipped his finger in his own blood and began drawing a talisman on the ground.
Before he could finish, Lao Duozi suddenly asked, "Who sent you?"
While drawing the talisman, Lao Yu answered, "I'm a torch-leader from Hunlong Stronghold on Fangpai Mountain. I was ordered by the stronghold master to come here and capture a captive."
Lao Duozi asked, "Is that captive Zhang Laifu?"
Lao Yu nodded. "That's him. This bastard killed our brothers. I have to put him to death. Debts have debtors, and grievances have their heads. We came to kill him—it has nothing to do with anyone else."
Just delay a little longer.
As long as he finished the talisman, he could reach the thing beneath.
Once the talisman was complete, Lao Yu would be able to subdue Lao Duozi. Even with the massive difference in their tiers, he had immense confidence.
When that time came, not only could he capture Zhang Laifu, but he could also take this old ghost. If such a powerful departed soul were planted into a bowl back at the stronghold, it would surely yield an extraordinary prize.
Lao Duozi nodded. "Fine, I understand."
Lao Yu froze. "Is there anything else you want to know?"
"Nothing else."
Bang!
Lao Duozi slapped his own chest. Amid the resonant, powerful drum sound, Lao Yu blew apart into a spray of flesh and blood.
"So this Zhang Laifu kid escaped from Fangpai Mountain. He's actually got some ability!" Lao Duozi praised, then called out, "Laifu, I'm praising you. Did you hear me?"
Zhang Laifu had already sprinted to the back courtyard, opened the rear door, and was heading outside. Lao Duozi barred the doorway and asked, "Laifu, I was just singing your praises. Where are you off to now?"
Zhang Laifu grabbed the door bar in passing and roared furiously, "I'm getting a weapon to fight them to the death!"
"Good lad. No need to fight them. Come with me."
Lao Duozi led Zhang Laifu back to the main courtyard and looked down at the two corpses on the ground.
"Laifu, tell me the truth. Who are they? Why did they come looking for you?"
Zhang Laifu did not dare lie at this moment. Now that Lao Duozi could hear, telling the truth was the wisest course.
"They're bandits from Fangpai Mountain. I was a captive they grabbed."
"You have no craft, nor do you possess a fierce vessel. How did you manage to run down from Fangpai Mountain?"
"There was a skilled craftsman whose legs were crippled. I carried him on my back as we escaped. I was responsible for running; he was responsible for killing."
Lao Duozi pulled the top hat from his robe. "So this bowl—you picked it up on Fangpai Mountain?"
"Yes!"
"Good boy, you've got guts and good luck!" Convinced that Zhang Laifu was telling the truth, Lao Duozi questioned him no further. He still had plenty of work to do.
Standing in the center of the courtyard, he brought his palms together and clapped steadily.
His claps were extremely dull and heavy, rattling Zhang Laifu's chest until it went numb.
In less than a minute, a palm-sized peach-wood sword rose from Lao Yu's corpse, while a ball of thread pierced by two needles emerged from Xiao Zhuzi's remains.
Lao Duozi instructed, "Go fetch them."
Zhang Laifu first went to Xiao Zhuzi's corpse and picked up the ball of thread and the money pouch.
This had to be craft essence; it bore some resemblance to the wisp of cotton batting on Lao Liang.
This was a good seed. Planting this into the bowl could yield a craft spirit, and consuming it would make him a craftsman.
Zhang Laifu felt as if he could already see the craft spirit before him.
Passing by Lao Yu's corpse, Zhang Laifu picked up the peach-wood sword and the money pouch, then took a closer look at the scattered remains.
*Lao Yu, you're broken into far more than eighteen pieces. There are fifty or sixty at least.*
*Your money pouch is bigger than Xiao Zhuzi's, so I'll hold onto it for you. What's this next to your hand...?*
Zhang Laifu spotted a symbol written in blood.
Was this a symbol or a word?
The left side looked somewhat like the character for "bone," while the right was completely unrecognizable.
Zhang Laifu did not know the symbol, yet the handwriting felt somewhat familiar, bearing a resemblance to Li Yunsheng's talismans.
Was this a mark left by Lao Yu?
Zhang Laifu remembered Lin Shaocong's warning: markings were dangerous things and had to be cleared away completely.
He committed the symbol's shape to memory, then scuffed it entirely clean with his foot before handing the ball of thread and the peach-wood sword to Lao Duozi.
Lao Duozi asked, "Do you know what these are?"
Zhang Laifu thought for a moment. "I'm guessing it's craft essence."
"Clever!" Lao Duozi laughed. "Laifu, your parents gave you a fine name—you truly are a blessed man. You have a bowl, a good bowl at that, and now you have craft essence. Place the craft essence into the bowl, and it will grow a craft spirit. Eat the craft spirit, and you will become a craftsman."
Zhang Laifu quickly voiced his gratitude. "It is all thanks to Senior's guidance and support."
Lao Duozi nodded. "No need to thank me just yet. Where's the tobacco? You bought it back, didn't you?"
"No..." Zhang Laifu shook his head.
"No?" The smile vanished from Lao Duozi's face. "Laifu, you may have fortune, but you are utterly useless!"
Chapter 27