Chapter 340

After the tea was ready, Pangzi and I carefully carried it to the two masters.

QingSongShu had us sit down and asked him to explain clearly what exactly was going on.

I recounted in detail everything from Yao Yirong to what happened that night in the studio's small building; after listening, QingSongShu furrowed his brows and said, "Are you really sure it's an Insect Master?"

I nodded and confirmed again: "Ancient texts record that to raise gu with the soul, when the gu king appears it first devours the life master. These two are exactly the characteristics of an Insect-raising Master."

After receiving my confirmation, QingSongShu's brows twitched, his expression grave as he muttered to himself, "Could it be him?"

We didn't know who he was, but seeing QingSongShu direct his doubtful gaze toward Seventh Master, Pangzi and I also turned our questioning looks toward Yang Qiye.

Faced with everyone's questioning, Yang Qiye propped his chin and thought for a long while, then shook his head with an equally solemn expression.

"It can't be him; although he survived that battle thirty years ago, when he fled he was already seriously wounded and shouldn't have lasted long."

"Who is he?" Pangzi couldn't hold back his doubt and blurted out.

Yang Qiye and QingSongShu both glared at Pangzi and said in unison, "Don't ask what you shouldn't."

Their tones were surprisingly consistent, as if they were hiding some earth-shattering secret from us. After discussing this matter, they both surprisingly urged me and Pangzi with one sentence: stay out of the Yao family's affairs if possible, to avoid bringing disaster upon ourselves.

Their mysterious manner left us baffled, and at the same time it made me even more curious about the Yao family. I had heard that the profession of Insect Master was eradicated in Guizhou by the Plowshare Witch Sect and the Gu Masters, together with the Chen State Corpse-Driving School. The talisman that Yao Wenju gave me that day indeed shows that the Yao family is one of the heirs of the Plowshare Witch Sect. Although I don't know whether they are white or black witches, I imagine that in that extermination of the Insect Masters, the Yao family must have had a presence.

Just as I was lost in thought, woolgathering, I suddenly heard Yang Qiye say this.

"This time I came, aside from visiting Xiaoqiang, I also want to tell you that I intend to take him as my disciple."

Yang Qiye's words left everyone stunned for a long moment; immediately QingSongShu slapped the table, glared at him and said, "Old fool, what do you mean, openly coming to steal my son?"

Faced with QingSongShu's questioning, Yang Qiye did not argue this time; instead he fell silent for a while, then looked at QingSongShu and said word by word, "I am serious. Although what I have learned is similar to yours, you must admit that your medical skill is inferior to mine. Our master never passed on the Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate and the Medicine King's Scripture to you."

Yang Qiye paused, his voice hoarse, and said, "Even if you don't think for Xiaoqiang, you must think for our Huaguang lineage. Does the medical art among the Five Arts really have to be lost in our generation?"

QingSongShu fell silent, closed his eyes and pondered for a long time before opening them to look at Yang Qiye.

"Over all these years, have you never taken on a disciple?" QingSongShu asked doubtfully.

Yang Qiye shook his head and smiled, "I would like to take a disciple, but I've simply never encountered a suitable one. Some appear sincere in their pursuit of the Dao, but in truth they're just putting on a show, lacking any genuine devotion to the Dao."

"Think about it first; there's no rush." Having said that, Yang Qiye waved his hand.

QingSongShu paused for a moment, glanced at Pangzi, then turned his gaze toward Yang Qiye.

"Fine, I agree." After pondering for a while, QingSongShu had already made his decision.

Just like that, Yang Qiye's taking Pangzi as a disciple became a settled matter. Even after they had finalized it, Pangzi still stood there dazed, unable to snap out of it.

"Well, don't you guys need to ask my opinion?" Pangzi pouted resentfully.

"Oh, you don't want to?" Yang Qiye looked at Pangzi, gave a light smile, and asked.

It was precisely that light smile that frightened Pangzi into instantly changing his answer, nodding quickly like a chick pecking at grain: "I'm willing, very willing." To show his sincerity, Pangzi pressed his right hand against his lung and repeated with emphasis, "This comes from the depths of my heart; I am completely willing."

But the spot where his right hand was covered was not the lung at all—it was clearly his conscience. This made me unable to suppress a laugh, almost bursting out. In the past, whenever a pretty dragon girl coyly asked Pangzi, "Am I beautiful?" he would secretly press his right hand to his heart, force a faint smile and say, "You're beautiful, very beautiful." Others didn't understand, but I fully grasped his trick: covering his heart with his hand, appearing gentlemanly, while actually telling others that his words were spoken from the conscience.

Seeing me straining to hold back laughter, Pangzi shoved me with his elbow and snarled, "Stop laughing at your sister, hurry up and think of a way to get me out of this."

I suppressed my laughter and whispered teasingly, "Isn't this pretty good? Think about it—you've suddenly gained a master and a strong backer; from now on you'll be able to walk with a straighter back."

"Fine, your sister… you have no idea how bitter my days are about to become." Pangzi curled his lips in a wry smile.

No sooner had his words finished than QingSongShu summoned Pangzi before Yang Qiye.

"In a few days we'll hold a initiation ceremony; you will bow to this old fool as your master and let him teach you medical arts."

Pangzi replied respectfully, but his face instantly fell. I figured his good days were at an end; given Yang Qiye's fierce temperament, teaching disciples would surely be strict, and Pangzi would have a hard time of it.

"QingSongShu, if there's nothing else, I'll head out first—I still have some matters to attend to." At that moment I recalled the kunyu that Murong Jiaja had entrusted to me. Having been out for so long, I must refine the kunyu properly so that Murong Jiaja will have a place to dwell.

QingSongShu nodded and waved his hand, saying, "Go ahead; I'll look after things here."

I walked out of the Chan Yi Hall; in the lobby, QingSongShu and the two masters were discussing the initiation ceremony. Occasionally loud arguments broke out between them due to differing opinions… and Pangzi's wry smile.

After leaving the Chan Yi Hall, I prepared to go buy jade for Murong Jiaja.

Speaking of this jade, I recalled an incident that had happened nearby. The story took place in Guangdong as well; the protagonist was an elderly grandmother on the verge of a serious illness. As she was about to pass away, she removed the jade bracelet from her wrist and gave it to her daughter-in-law, telling her to keep it safe. She said it was a betrothal gift her husband had bought when he married her.

At that time Pangzi and I were invited to bless the elderly grandmother; we were both present. I personally saw her hand the jade bracelet to her daughter-in-law. The bracelet's quality wasn't particularly precious—it was merely the southern jade abundantly produced in Xinyi—but the bracelet was covered with scattered crisscrossing blood lines, which should not have appeared in southern jade.

Then, what happened next shocked everyone. At the moment the grandmother breathed her last, the jade in the daughter-in-law's hand suddenly clanged and snapped into two pieces.

Later, QingSongShu told us that jade possesses spirit; people nurture jade and jade moistens people. If the jade is of good quality, long-term nurturing by a person's qi will cause blood-like lines to seep out onto its surface. This is the manifestation of the bracelet having developed spiritual energy; after the grandmother's death, the bracelet also broke because it had formed an attachment to her and wished to go with her.

It was precisely because of this incident that I learned of jade's spirituality. Later, as I came into contact with more jade, I realized that jade not only has spirit but also other uses—for example, the Ming Channel used to collect ghosts is one such application.

Now Murong Jiaja has asked me to buy jade for her, the purpose being to let the jade's spirituality nourish her divine soul. Moreover, she wants me to buy not ordinary jade but kunyu, also known as Maoshan jade. It is said that "he who is beautiful in jade is beautiful in stone." Both the Kangxi-era Jurong County Gazette and the Southern Regions Gazette contain records of it.

This jade is abundantly produced in the Maoshan of Jurong, forming in the cold-water stream north of Yuchenguan within cliffside rock caverns, transformed by the essences of sun and moon. Although its value cannot compare to Hotan jade, its spiritual energy is in no way inferior; after a little ritual refinement, it can be used to nourish the divine soul.

Although kunyu is said to be abundantly produced in the Maoshan of Jurong, it is also sold in Zhejiang and Guangdong. To obtain high-quality Maoshan jade, I ran to the antique street in the suburbs.

Although the antique street is just an ordinary lane, its two sides are lined with shops full of all kinds of goods, and outside the shops there are various stalls; besides calligraphy, paintings, jade, stone and antiques, one can also find old scriptures that sects have passed down, as well as old compasses used by feng shui masters.

Of course, where there is genuine merchandise there are also fakes; some do business with integrity while others pass off counterfeits as the real thing. When treasure‑hunting on the antique street, it all depends on one's discernment. Those lacking experience will surely be marked as suckers and ruthlessly fleeced.

I happen to be one of those people lacking discernment. However, discernment isn't everything; sometimes connections outweigh it.

The shop I went to is an old-established brand on the antique street, intimately familiar to QingSongShu. Even if he had the nerve to cheat me, he wouldn't dare cheat QingSongShu.

So I have absolutely no worry about becoming a fish (a sucker).

Walking straight ahead, I entered a shop located at the crossroads lane. Inside the entrance on the left sat a bald man holding a child.

This is precisely the shop's owner, Lao Zhao. QingSongShu's acquaintance with him also stems from feng shui.

This happened two years ago. As everyone knows, people in the antiquities trade generally put great faith in feng shui. Lao Zhao was no exception; when his shop opened, he hung two rows of copper gourds on either side of the doorway, nine in total. Nine is the number of metal, and gourds are said to dispel illness and misfortune. In fact, to Lao Zhao's way of thinking, these gourds were merely a symbol; he considered them all fakes, worthless trinkets, which is why he openly displayed them outside the door.

Lao Zhao never expected that, after so many years in the trade, he would for the first time misjudge something. Among those nine gourds, the ninth one turned out to be an authentic artifact crafted in the Qin dynasty. Moreover, the timing and placement of that gourd happened to match his five elements perfectly, making it a wealth‑gathering gourd.

Once, an old man came to Lao Zhao's shop to buy something. He lingered in the store for a while, then took a liking to the ninth gourd hanging at the doorway.

Although the old man offered a low price, Lao Zhao, believing that a satisfied customer makes him happy, still took out that gourd and sold it to him.

What Lao Zhao didn't anticipate was that the old man who bought the gourd was actually an expert who recognized the copper gourd's value. Worried about arousing Lao Zhao's suspicion, he purchased it for an extremely low price, then later resold it at over a thousand times the cost. In the antiquities trade this practice is called "picking up a leak."

After decades of dealing in antiques, he ended up being the one who got picked clean by someone else. Lao Zhao felt the pain, but he wasn't stingy; he took this as a lesson for himself. Only he didn't expect that this lesson would be far more than simply losing a single antique.

The next morning, the bicycle at the entrance toppled with a bang, pinning Lao Zhao's five-and-a-half‑year‑old grandson and fracturing the child's leg. In the afternoon, the signboard that had been installed less than three years ago collapsed, nearly crushing a customer who had come in to buy something.

Within a day, two misfortunes occurred in succession; Old Zhao also felt something was amiss, and he hurriedly invited QingSongShu to come and check the feng shui for him.

QingSongShu glanced and saw the problem. Old Zhao's shop sits at the tail end of a crossroads alley, with a straight road in front and shops on both sides of that road. In feng shui, it is said that straight water flow is most inauspicious, and a straight road is like a spear. A building in such a layout is equivalent to being pressed on the neck by a long spear; once the yearly luck cycle is triggered, it will bring the occupant a blood‑light disaster.

Previously, Old Zhao was in such a killing position, yet he was not harmed and his business thrived. This was because the killing energy was all subdued by that spiritual gourd; now that the gourd has been sold, it is equivalent to losing one eye of the formation, and the other eight gourds have become useless.

Later, under QingSongShu's adjustment, the feng shui of Old Zhao's shop was improved, and thereafter no one was ever injured by being struck.

The two thus became acquainted; moreover, Old Zhao tends to trust traditional Chinese medicine, believing that too many injections from Western medicine are bad for the body and that Western medicines are always too cold. When ill, one should still see a traditional Chinese doctor, take some bitter herbs, and treat the root cause without harming the body.

Therefore, whenever a family member falls ill, he comes to Chan Yi Hall to get a prescription for Chinese medicine. In this way, over time everyone gradually became acquainted.