Volume Three: The Fox Immortal Tomb, Chapter Six: Blood Scab on the Fox Corpse
When the old man finished speaking, my heart suddenly tightened. Could it be that this old fellow knew the token had been brought out of the tomb by us?
Li Kun glanced at me then, a trace of panic visible in his eyes. I reached out with my right hand and patted his thigh, steadying him, then turned back to the old man and said, “Please, you flatter us. If you have something to say, sir, just speak freely.”
The old man nodded. “Don’t call me sir. My surname is Sun. If you do not mind, just call me Elder Sun.”
I nodded.
Elder Sun went on, “To be honest, there is indeed something I called you here for this time, and it has a great deal to do with that token.”
Li Kun asked, “Elder Sun, if you are asking about the token, why ask us? We don’t know where it came from either.”
Elder Sun smiled faintly. “To tell the truth, a few days ago I saw the two of you. At that time, there was no Mr. Xu beside you, only two young girls.”
At that, I was startled. Could this Elder Sun have been at the ghost market that day and seen the few of us there? Otherwise, how could he have recognized us?
Seeing my expression, Elder Sun stood up and walked over to me. Then, with both fists clasped before him, he bowed deeply. To my astonishment, he gave me a full, respectful salute.
I could not possibly accept such a grand gesture from an elder, so I hurriedly stepped aside and then helped him up at once. “Elder Sun, what are you doing? How could a junior like me bear such a bow from you?”
But he seemed not to care. Turning back toward me, he bowed again and slowly said, “Everyone in the ghost market knows the name of the Young Lord of the Ghost Market. If one wishes to gain a foothold there, anyone who knows that name and refuses to bow shall be killed without mercy.”
After hearing that, I drew a sharp breath. I had never imagined the title of Young Lord of the Ghost Market would carry such weight. Then the old man said to me with utter seriousness, “Sun Wufang, a Ghost Envoy of the Ghost Market, greets the Young Lord of the Ghost Market.”
There was a strict hierarchy within the ghost market, and everyone who entered it carried a token bearing their identity. Of course, the token in my possession also bore an identity, though on mine were engraved the three words “Thousand Poisons Hall.”
The ranks in the ghost market were also divided very strictly. The lowest was called Ghost Soldier, followed in order by Ghost Envoy, Ghost General, Ghost King, and Nether Fiend. Yet among all the tokens in the ghost market, only one person possessed a Nether Fiend token: the Ghost Lamp Daoist, who stood beneath the Thousand Poison Daoist and served as the guardian of the ghost market.
And each rank was permitted to move only within a very limited area. The lowest rank, the Ghost Soldier, could only buy goods in the ghost market and was forbidden to sell anything. A Ghost Envoy’s range was only slightly broader.
Once one reached the level of Ghost General, one could set up a stall in the ghost market and sell wares, and the privileges increased considerably; one could also enjoy substantial discounts when buying things.
If this old man really had been in the ghost market that day, then it was entirely possible he had seen me. After all, my name had been posted all over the market that day; it would have been difficult not to notice.
Seeing the old man like this, I could only accept the bow. Then I lifted him by the arms and said, “Elder Sun, let us sit and talk.”
Sun Wufang nodded, went over to a chair at the side, and then turned to me and asked, “Young Lord, may I ask whether that token was obtained by the two of you?”
Li Kun and I exchanged a glance. I nodded, signaling that there was no harm in telling him. Even if he had some ulterior motive, he would not escape the punishment of the ghost market.
Looking at Sun Wufang, I said, “That’s right. The token was indeed obtained by us. Elder Sun, is that why you asked?”
Sun Wufang nodded, and did not press further. “To be honest, I came this time because I have a matter I would like to entrust to the two of you.”
Li Kun asked somewhat suspiciously, “Elder Sun, even if we have some connection with the ghost market, that doesn’t mean we must help you, does it?”
Seeing how bluntly Li Kun spoke, Sun Wufang smiled faintly and asked, “If I am not mistaken, the two of you must be professionals in tomb raiding, am I right?”
At those words, Li Kun, Xu Tian, and I all instantly became wary. I thought to myself: so this is what he came for after all.
Seeing the three of us react that way, Sun Wufang waved a hand to calm us. “No need to be tense. It is not difficult to guess that the three of you are people from the tomb-raiding trade. The token you gave to the museum was clearly something just brought out of a tomb.”
“To tell the truth, I have been in this line for more than forty years. I started studying antiques and porcelain in my twenties. When that token was placed in my hands, I could smell the earthy scent on it, and that is why I concluded it must have just come out of a tomb.”
I asked, “Elder Sun, since you know we are experts in tomb raiding, what exactly have you come to us for this time?”
Sun Wufang said, “I came to ask the two of you for help. If it succeeds, we split the reward twenty-eighty. Of course, I take twenty, and you take eighty.”
At that, Xu Tian, who had been silent all this time, suddenly asked, “Elder Sun, then this favor of yours must not be simple. And since you want us to help, does it mean we will have to go into a tomb?”
Sun Wufang turned to Xu Tian. Seeing how sharp the question was, he showed no sign of displeasure. Instead, he looked at Xu Tian calmly and said, “Mr. Xu is right. The favor I seek from you all does indeed involve entering a tomb. But I am not doing it for money. I am doing it to save a life. Of course, the wealth obtained inside may be divided as you please. I only want one thing from it.”
At that, Xu Tian frowned slightly. “Elder Sun, what is this thing called? What does it look like? What is it used for? If you cannot explain it clearly, then we will not be able to help you with this matter.”
Sun Wufang clenched his teeth inwardly and thought to himself that this Xu Tian was not easy to deal with. If he could not say something convincing, then this whole trip would be for nothing.
Sun Wufang turned to me, then stood up and walked over to the large table behind him. He pulled open a drawer and took out a piece of yellowed stiff paper.
He came back to my side and sat down again, placing the stiff paper into my hands. “What I am asking the three of you to help me find is this.”
I took the paper from him, and Li Kun and Xu Tian leaned in beside me. The sheet was covered in many small lines of text, and in the upper right corner there was also a colored illustration.
The picture showed something shaped like a bottle cap. It was round, but the bottom was very flat, while the top had a deep groove carved into it. At a glance, it looked almost no different from the cap of a beer bottle.
The object itself was a dark red all over, like a clotted mass of blood. Above the illustration were four small words: Fox Corpse Blood Scab.
On the left side of the Fox Corpse Blood Scab was a description of its origin and function.
What truly shocked the three of us was one line within that description, a line that had been specially marked beneath it.
According to legend, the Fox Corpse Blood Scab is a blood crust that falls from the body of a fox spirit when it cultivates human form. If this substance is simmered into a soup, it can cure a hundred poisons, preserve youth and beauty, and heal any illness within the body.
After seeing the marked line, Xu Tian, Li Kun, and I were all stunned. Setting aside the claims of curing a hundred poisons and preserving beauty, even the last statement alone—that it could heal any illness in the body—was enough to drive people mad. If such a thing truly existed in this world, it would probably make the entire world go mad.
What puzzled me, though, was why Sun Wufang could obtain such a thing, and how he even knew where it was.
The instant Xu Tian saw the Fox Corpse Blood Scab in the illustration, his first thought was how to squeeze Sun Wufang dry. Although we now knew of this thing’s existence, only Sun Wufang knew where it was. If he refused to say, we would have no way at all.
Thinking of this, Xu Tian instantly came up with an idea. He looked up at Sun Wufang in front of him with a sly grin and said, “Elder Sun, since this page already says it is a blood clot that falls off when a fox spirit cultivates a human form, that means this thing cannot be easy to obtain.”
“And if there really is some so-called fox spirit from legend, we might even have to risk our lives. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Sun Wufang’s eyes darted about as he seemed to search for a response. Just as he was about to speak, Xu Tian cut him off first. “And do you know who these two beside you are?”
At that, Sun Wufang naturally followed the opening Xu Tian had given him and asked, “Isn’t this one the Young Lord of the Ghost Market? Could the two of them have some other identity?”
Xu Tian smiled faintly. “Elder Sun, I wonder if you have ever heard of the Dragon-Searching Celestial Master.”
The moment he heard that, Sun Wufang sprang up from his seat, staring at Li Kun and me in utter shock. He cried out, “What? The Dragon-Searching Celestial Master?”
Seeing his reaction, Xu Tian finally smiled with satisfaction. “Since you know the name of the Dragon-Searching Celestial Master, then you should also know what conditions are required if you want the Dragon-Searching Celestial Master to take action.”
At that moment, Sun Wufang was still staring at Li Kun and us with a face full of astonishment. Then he sat heavily back into his chair, lifted a hand to wipe the cold sweat beading on his forehead, and slowly said, “The Dragon-Searching Celestial Master never fails when he goes into action. Summon the dragon from the mountains, and nine times out of ten it will surely be accomplished.”