Volume Three: The Fox Immortal Tomb Chapter Seven: Liu Jie the Sage

Li Kun and I were both staring in astonishment at Xu Tian beside us. Li Kun leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Old Liu, is there really such a rule among the Dragon-Seeking Celestial Masters?”

I shook my head. “Honestly, I didn’t know there was such a rule in their line of work either.”

Li Kun gave a sly grin. “Well, whatever the case, it suits my taste. Ruthless enough. Dark enough.”

Xu Tian looked at Sun Wufang before him and smiled. “Since you know this is the rule when one asks a Dragon-Seeking Celestial Master to take action, then you should know what to do, shouldn’t you?”

At that moment Sun Wufang leaned back in his chair, his face drained white. In his heart he kept saying to himself, How can this be? How could they be the legendary Dragon-Seeking Celestial Masters? Wasn’t that lineage cut off a hundred years ago? I don’t believe it!

Thinking this, Sun Wufang turned to Li Kun and me. “May I ask, young master, since the two of you are the only surviving Dragon-Seeking Celestial Masters of this age, do you have any proof to show that you truly are Dragon-Seeking Celestial Masters?”

Li Kun and I exchanged a glance. Then Li Kun came over beside me, and together we extended our right hands before Sun Wufang.

Seeing this, Sun Wufang grew puzzled. He lowered his head to inspect our fingers, and there, on the ring fingers of both Li Kun and me, were milky-white pure jade rings.

But when Sun Wufang saw the rings on our hands, his face was full of confusion. It was obvious he had no idea what they were.

Seeing his expression, I explained, “This ring on our hands is the only token carried by a Dragon-Seeking Celestial Master, and it is also the inheritance relic of their entire lineage.”

Hearing this, Sun Wufang suddenly thought of something and cried out, “Could this be the legendary inheritance ring that can ward off corpse poison and corpse aura in tombs?”

His face was filled with shock. Perhaps in all his life he had never shown so many expressions as he had today; from the moment this began until now, his face had scarcely stopped changing.

Then Sun Wufang seemed to think of something else, and inwardly he muttered that although we claimed this was the inheritance ring of the Dragon-Seeking Celestial Master line, he had never actually seen it himself. Whether it was genuine remained to be seen.

Seeing the doubtful look on his face, I knew he did not believe us. Not only him; if I were in his place, I would not believe such words either. But my next move would completely extinguish that doubt in his heart.

I smiled faintly, reached into my jacket, and took out the Dragon-Seeking Compass from my chest, laying it flat in my palm.

Looking at Sun Wufang, I smiled and said, “Old Sun, since you have studied antiques for more than forty years, you must know what this is.”

When Sun Wufang saw me produce a compass, his face was full of surprise. He reached out as if to take it, but I withdrew my arm and took the Dragon-Seeking Compass back.

Seeing that I did not want him to hold it, he gave an awkward laugh and said, “Ahem, young master, may this old fellow have a look? Just place it on the table. I won’t touch it, I won’t touch it.”

Seeing that Sun Wufang had truly lowered himself, I finally nodded and placed the Dragon-Seeking Compass on the tea table before me.

Sun Wufang quickly moved his chair closer, then lowered his head to examine the compass carefully.

After about a minute, his eyes were wide with disbelief. His mouth hung open as he slowly said, “Could this be the legendary master artifact of the Dragon-Seeking Celestial Master lineage, the Dragon-Seeking Compass?”

He bit down hard on the last three words, and his hands could not help trembling faintly. Slowly, he said, “This is a treasure of the nation, a treasure of the nation! I had only ever seen the Dragon-Seeking Compass in books. I never imagined that in my lifetime I would actually lay eyes on such a priceless object.”

As he spoke, Sun Wufang reached out toward the Dragon-Seeking Compass.

But how could I be so careless? I had been guarding against him all along, fearing that in his excitement he might do something we had not anticipated.

In one swift motion, I snatched the compass back again and tucked it into my jacket. Sun Wufang’s eyes had been fixed the whole time on the compass in my hand, his own hands frozen in the air. Only when the compass vanished from sight did he finally let out a long breath.

He slowly lowered his hands, raised his head to look at me, and sighed softly. “It seems I was the one with narrow vision. I never imagined the two of you carried such a status.”

Xu Tian still kept the tone of a businessman as he said, “Since that is the case, Old Sun, then you?”

Sun Wufang gritted his teeth. “Since the two of you are the Dragon-Seeking Celestial Masters of this age, then this old fellow has nothing more to say. I’ll tell you the location of the fox-corpse blood scab. But may I make a small request?”

Xu Tian sat up straight and looked at Sun Wufang slowly. “Old Sun, asking a Dragon-Seeking Celestial Master to take action and still raising conditions? In all history, you could be said to be the first.”

Sun Wufang shook his head helplessly. “The three of you, to be honest, our family has always suffered from hereditary leukemia. By my granddaughter’s generation, the illness has progressed far too quickly. My granddaughter has only just turned twelve this year. If she is not treated soon, I fear she will not live through this winter. And if the fox-corpse blood scab is used to save her, a mere tenth of it may not be enough.”

At this point, Sun Wufang quickly looked up at me and said, “But please rest assured, whatever treasures you take from the tomb, I will not ask for a single cent. I only beg the three of you to give me three tenths of the fox-corpse blood scab so I can treat my granddaughter and my son’s leukemia. And I can swear a poisonous oath that I will never reveal anything about you to the outside world.”

Hearing this, the three of us exchanged glances. I gave Xu Tian a look, and Xu Tian nodded slightly, then turned to Sun Wufang and said, “Old Sun, this is the first time we have encountered such a request. How about this: you step aside for a while and let us discuss it. We’ll give you an answer shortly. What do you think?”

Sun Wufang turned to look at me, then nodded gently and rose to go into the inner room.

After Sun Wufang left, Xu Tian moved his chair beside me, and Li Kun also leaned in. Xu Tian said, “Old Liu, what do you think? What’s your take on this? Do we do it or not?”

Li Kun rubbed his fist back and forth across his palm. That was the sort of gesture he only made when thinking, and it was clear he too was uncertain about the matter.

Li Kun said, “Old Liu, I think this is a bit hard to handle. Besides, there’s no real benefit for us.”

Xu Tian and I looked at Li Kun. Xu Tian asked, “Oh? Old Li, tell us what you’re thinking.”

Li Kun said, “Think about it. Going after that fox-corpse blood scab doesn’t really do us any good. This old man came to us only to save his granddaughter, but what use is that to us? Even if we really got the fox-corpse blood scab, we wouldn’t have any use for it. We’re not sick, are we?”

“And think about it another way. The thing is called fox-corpse blood scab. It’s something that falls off when a fox spirit takes human form, which means there’s a so-called fox immortal inside.”

“Old Liu, you really need to think this through. The fox immortal that saved us on Mount Lei last time was already terrifying even before it had fully cultivated human form. If it has truly cultivated into a human shape, wouldn’t it be able to command wind and rain with a turn of the hand? That’s an existence we absolutely cannot afford to provoke.”

Hearing this, Xu Tian also nodded, as though considering whether the trip was worth making.

After Li Kun finished, I too had some thoughts of my own. I said, “Old Li, this time we really can make the trip. Leaving aside the burial objects in the tomb, that fox-corpse blood scab is a rare treasure. Even the emperors of old may not have been able to obtain something like it.”

“And it’s not certain we can’t deal with the so-called fox immortal. Have you forgotten I still have the Soul-Cleaving Blade? Whether it’s a fox immortal or anything else, as long as I cut it once, even an immortal would be stricken by corpse poison and die. And there’s another crucial point.”

Li Kun and Xu Tian both turned to look at me. I said slowly, “Don’t forget our identity. We are the only surviving Dragon-Seeking Celestial Masters of this age. And what is the creed of the Dragon-Seeking Celestial Masters, Old Li? Surely you haven’t forgotten.”

Li Kun said, “What is obtained from the tomb should, to the greatest extent, be used to aid the poor people of the world.”

I nodded slightly. “Exactly. And this Old Sun is only trying to save his own family. On that basis alone, we ought to make the trip.”

Xu Tian let out a soft sigh. “Old Liu, if you had lived in ancient times, you would surely have been a great sage.”

I smiled faintly. “If I weren’t like this, how could I deserve the title of the current master of the Dragon-Seeking Celestial Masters?”

After saying that, I waved Xu Tian over to let him call Sun Wufang back out. Xu Tian nodded, walked to the door, and knocked. Soon after, Sun Wufang slowly emerged from inside.

At that moment Sun Wufang’s face was full of tension. “Young master, have the three of you reached a decision?”

I waved a hand, signaling him to sit and speak. Sun Wufang returned to his seat. Only then did I say, “After our discussion just now, we are willing to help you find the fox-corpse blood scab. But I have one condition.”

Hearing this, Sun Wufang’s heart immediately tightened. He feared I might bring up some astonishing demand.

I said, “My condition is simple. If we bring the fox-corpse blood scab out from within, we will first give you one tenth of it to use in treating the sick and saving lives. If that tenth is enough to cure your family’s illness, I will take the rest.”

After hearing this, Sun Wufang felt as if a stone had smashed into his heart. “This, this...”

I waved a hand. “Old Sun, you do not need to worry about this matter. There is a reason I am doing it this way, and we will not privately pocket the fox-corpse blood scab. If it truly has such miraculous effects, then we will hand it over to the state and let the nation study its composition to help cure the world’s stubborn illnesses.”

“In that way, even after death we will have accumulated a great deal of merit in the underworld. By then, even if we reach the netherworld, the Ten Kings of Hell will not treat you poorly, and your descendants will also be able to enjoy your blessings. After all, it was you who discovered this fox-corpse blood scab, which makes you something of a man of merit.”