Chapter 24: The Legendary Artifact

The golden glow of the setting sun spilled into the backyard of the Yuanshi Palace.

The old temple master wore a pair of thick, insulated gloves, turning a deep purple-red gourd over in his hands. He even pulled out the stopper and had A-Ying shine a cell phone flashlight inside; it was empty, and shaking it produced not a single sound. As he examined the gourd, he listened to A-Ying recount the events in the tunnel beneath Chen Family Village over and over.

His face remained calm, but his heart was a raging sea. He thought to himself, "I have been in the Yuanshi Palace since I was a child, and I have performed exorcisms at least a dozen times. It’s not that I haven't tried calling upon deities to slay evil. But all those rituals involve summoning divine power; once the evil is vanquished, the power fades. That’s all there is to it. Yet, according to A-Ying’s description, in a place as cursed as that tunnel—with no altar and no ritual music—they actually summoned a 'White Crane Boy' capable of autonomous action. This... this..."

True deities do not descend in the flesh. Summoning a deity actually means calling upon a sliver of divine power, allowing a mortal body to wield divine strength. There are sects that practice spirit mediumship, but they usually summon their own deceased masters or ancestors—especially those who hold some rank in the underworld.

The old master remained silent.

A-Ying stood by and said, "Master, say something... you've been staring at that gourd for half an hour."

The old master was speechless. He had nothing to say. His mind was a fog; he didn't even know what was happening. The wooden box he had given A-Ying contained a straw effigy linked to his own life force. He had opened the talisman paper and set up an altar here, waiting to channel his strength through the effigy to assist the White Crane Boy in tackling the Great Black Buddha Mother. But he had felt nothing. He had sat by the altar for hours until he fell asleep.

A-Ying leaned in close to the old master and asked timidly, "Master, is it that you attained the Tao long ago, capable of projecting your soul and slaying demons with a flying sword? And the fact that you still use a cane is just to test us useless disciples and observe our potential in secret?"

The old master licked his dry lips. If he were capable of soul projection, the first thing he would do is give A-Ying a sound thrashing in the middle of the night. He coughed twice and said, "Cultivation matters cannot be explained in a sentence or two. I will clarify things for you slowly in the future."

A-Ying’s eyes sparkled with hope, and he excitedly agreed.

The old master's throat felt unusually itchy today, and he kept coughing. "Li Xuan is still here. Let’s talk about the gourd first," he said. "Li Xuan, this gourd has been refined. It likely contains its own space, capable of storing and retrieving items. Since the White Crane Boy gave this to you, only you can control it freely. Try it again."

Li Xuan took the gourd. He had already tried pulling the stopper and tipping it over, but nothing had come out. He wondered if he needed to offer a drop of blood to claim ownership.

He hesitated for a moment, then pulled out a dagger, pricked his index finger, and touched the blood to the surface of the gourd.

In the next second, the blood seeped into the gourd's skin, and a talisman seal instantly appeared—clearly one of the ones the White Crane Boy had written earlier. Li Xuan felt a spark of intuition and touched his fingertip to the other side of the gourd. Another talisman appeared, and the two began to pulse in resonance, as if coming to life. A lock between him and the gourd seemed to click open, establishing a mystical connection.

He gave it a try. With a mere thought, the gourd spat out the seal, the *suona* horn, and the celestial ruler.

Seeing this with his own eyes, the old master’s eye twitched. This was incredible. He recalled how, in the past, he would have to carry bags upon bags, or have his disciples haul various ritual instruments whenever he went out. If he had this gourd, the level of prestige would be immeasurable.

Envy was one thing, but he dared not covet a gift from the White Crane Boy. The old master smoothed his expression, coughed, and said, "Young friend Li Xuan, you are deeply blessed to receive such a treasure from a deity. It brings me great comfort to see such outstanding young people..."

Li Xuan felt a sense of reverence. A true master! To see a legendary artifact and remain unmoved, even encouraging the younger generation—he didn't stand on ceremony anymore. He put away the instruments, kept the bent *suona*, hung the gourd at his waist, and said respectfully, "Thank you for your encouragement, Master. I will certainly continue to strive for improvement!"

It was getting late. He had to go. As the sun set, the pilgrims gradually left the Yuanshi Palace. The old master and A-Ying stood at the entrance, watching Li Xuan get into a taxi.

A-Ying asked, "Master, can you teach me how to project my soul?"

Just as the old master was lost in thoughts about how high Li Xuan might climb in the future, his pleasant mood was shattered by A-Ying's question. He raised his hand and gave him a sharp rap on the head. "You brat, he’s still right there, and you’re asking me that? You want to learn soul projection? I’ll make sure your soul leaves your body in a moment..."

A-Ying scrambled away, clutching his head and sprinting into the palace, with the old master chasing after him, cane in hand.

...

Li Xuan sat in the taxi, opening the window to let the breeze brush his face. Under the night sky, the city lights flickered to life. The high-rises and shopping malls were draped in neon colors, and the heavy traffic wove together to create a landscape unique to the island.

Most people might never encounter an evil spirit in their entire lives. They were the lucky ones.

The taxi arrived at the hospital. A frail Chen Letong lay in her bed, an IV drip feeding her nutritional fluids. Xie Qiming was busy attending to her. Letong had had a terrible mother, but she had found a far better father.

Xie Qiming glanced at the sleeping girl and lowered his voice. "Did you find Li Ruonan? She’s caused enough chaos; I’ve already filed a lawsuit. It won’t be long before I regain custody of Duoduo. This child has suffered too much; she can’t handle any more hardship."

Li Xuan replied, "Li Ruonan is insane. She lost all sense of humanity. She happened upon the sacrificial girl from Chen Family Village and actually cut off her ear to offer it to the Great Black Buddha Mother."

Xie Qiming felt a chill run through him. He knew Li Ruonan had mental health issues, but he hadn't expected such horror. "Is she really gone?" he asked.

Li Xuan saw the heartbeat monitor beside Chen Letong's bed flicker slightly. He gathered his thoughts and said, "Through an introduction by Master A-Qing, I went to the Yuanshi Palace and found a capable helper. We invoked the power of a deity and destroyed the Great Black Buddha Mother. Unfortunately, my friend was caught off guard and was stabbed by Li Ruonan. But she reaped what she sowed; the curse on her was too deep, and it erupted in the tunnel. She died."

Li Ruonan was dead. Xie Qiming hated that woman, but he worried about Letong’s future. To lose a mother at such a young age—it would likely leave a scar on her heart that would last a lifetime.

Sigh.

Li Xuan noticed the black notebook appear, displaying the words: "Mission Accomplished."

"I’m leaving," he said. He chose to ignore the notebook instead of responding to it, and walked out of the hospital room.

Xie Qiming assumed Li Xuan was heading back to his rental and replied politely, "Take care on your way."

Little did he know, this was their final meeting. As he turned, he noticed the blanket on Chen Letong had slipped, so he hurried over to pull it up. His heart jolted with pain. Chen Letong was curled up in bed, eyes tightly shut, seemingly asleep, but tears were streaming uncontrollably from her eyes, soaking the pillow.

Duoduo... she had heard everything.