Chapter 391: with translation of chapter title

So-called borrowing luck is a relatively mild method of changing one's fortune in the study of fate.

A person's fortune has its prosperous and declining times; in prosperity, everything goes smoothly and one rises rapidly; in decline, calamities loom, everything goes awry, not only are obstacles more numerous, but petty people also stir up trouble for no reason. Even worse, one may encounter the deadly blood-disaster checks of the vehicle pass, heavenly calamity, and the White Tiger.

At this point, besides giving verbal reminders, the fate master will also advise the client to borrow luck in order to improve his own fortune.

In plain terms, the fate master, based on a living person's eight characters, advises traveling to a suitable place during the months when the flowing year brings especially severe calamities, choosing to borrow earthly luck to aid oneself. If the person's chart favors water, the fate master will recommend going to the frigid places of the northeast, such as Harbin; otherwise, he will suggest some mild places in the south.

Besides that, there are also specific borrow-luck methods aimed at resolving parental and filial clashes, the five-element conflicts among relatives, or those eight characters that are inherently fraught with disaster and difficult to sustain.

For such eight characters, if the fate master is of poor character and insufficient cultivation, he will resort to mystifying nonsense, advising the parents to send the child away to be raised elsewhere in order to break this clash.

But children are the apple of their parents' eyes; unless forced, which parent would willingly give his own child to be raised by someone else?

There is a modern saying: 'I would rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle.' Applied to parents, it means they would rather endure the hardship of caring for their children, even be driven to tears by a mischievous child, than be separated from their flesh and blood and live a lonely, comfortable life.

In such circumstances, borrowing luck is also one of the methods we offer. By borrowing the luck of spirits and the luck of sacred trees, we resolve clashes and ill omens.

Choose a temple with flourishing incense, and through ritual and paperwork make a contract with the spirits, honoring them as a foster father, using their qi to resolve the clash. Or, according to one's birth date, select a favorable direction, take the birthplace as a point, find a feng shui spirit tree, honor the tree as a foster mother, implying the child borrows the mother's luck to dispel misfortune and innate weaknesses in one's fate.

What Pangzi and I are now preparing to do is also a form of borrowing luck, but our method differs greatly from the two described above. It uses ritual as a guide, with clothing and hair as media, to give our own qi and fortune to Wei Xiong, using our own fortune to dispel the calamities on his body.

Such a method benefits one person while harming another, runs contrary to heavenly harmony, and also damages the caster's essence, qi, and spirit; we would not choose this way of borrowing luck unless absolutely necessary.

But now, aside from this borrowing luck, we can think of no quicker way. Damaging heavenly harmony can only be done once, as long as our brother comes to no harm.

Because a fate master cannot divine his own fate—each reading, though the overall trend does not change, the intermediate course will drift—so Pangzi and I can only read each other's fortunes to see whose qi is stronger and thus able to lend luck to Wei Xiong.

"Your yearly natal sound earthly branch is Chen, and this year you are moving into the You luck; Chen and You combine to form metal, which is the metal combination among the six harmonies. You are currently in a flowing year of strong self and prosperous fortune. Wei Xiong has a water destiny; since metal produces water in the five elements, we can borrow…"

"Your eight characters contain a lot of earth, and this year you are also suffering the Harm to the Grand Duke; even if we ignore that your fortune is not strong, even if the flowing year's fortune were strong, the Xu earth would clash and harm the Ren water, so your luck cannot be lent to Wei Xiong, or else his day master would become even weaker."

After we used the Zi Ping method to plot the four pillars on paper, we arrived at the two conclusions above. Pangzi has a metal destiny, and his flowing year combines to form the metal combination; since metal produces water in the five elements, he can lend luck to Wei Xiong.

As for me, I have an earth destiny; even without mentioning the Harm to the Grand Duke year, my fortune is not strong. Even if I were in a strong phase, I could not lend to him, because Xu earth clashes with Ren water, and even if I were willing to lend, it would only further conceal and weaken Wei Xiong's already feeble fortune.

This is the strictness of borrowing luck: even a person in a strong phase cannot simply lend it; it depends on whether the two individuals' eight characters clash or complement each other.

"Let me do it; your eight characters are not suitable for lending luck to Wei Xiong." Pangzi answered cleanly and promptly, and after speaking he prepared to set up the altar and perform the rite.

"All right… let's do the rite right away; I'll go fetch Wei Xiong's upper garment and hair right now." I likewise did not hesitate, immediately running out to the living room.

Quietly, I cut off Wei Xiong's hair with scissors, took off his upper garment, and brought them into the room.

In the room, Pangzi had already drawn the red paper: left, the Thousand-Mile Eye; right, the Wind-Following Ear; in the center, he had enshrined the Five Manifest Huaguang Ancestral Master; the altar diagram bore the sun and moon, with the four characters 'Great Manifest Numinous Power' written above.

Since the guesthouse lacked a statue of the Great Emperor Huaguang, Pangzi had no choice but to use the red paper as a makeshift spirit altar to perform the rite.

After finishing the red paper, Pangzi pasted it on the wall, bowed his head three times in reverence, then immediately opened the bundle and took out a long box from within.

Upon opening it, we saw that the box held a bronze sword about twenty inches long.

With a clang, the treasure sword was unsheathed; the moment the blade was drawn, a flash of cold light swept through the room, causing my eyes to momentarily lose focus.

"Pangzi… this is" I stepped closer, staring at the bronze sword and asked curiously

Although the blade of this bronze sword is now dull, the earlier flash of cold light and the resonant sound of its being drawn are enough to show that it is an extraordinary weapon. Moreover, as Daoist priests, our swords are used to slay demons and evil spirits, not to kill people; the sharpness of the blade is not greatly related to the sword's efficacy—what matters is whether the implement's spiritual aura is thick enough.

"What are you looking at… you haven't not seen it before—it's the Seven-Star Dragon Spring Sword, passed down three generations in my family. Besides my father, my grandfather and great-grandfather have all used this sword to slay demons and evil spirits; the sword has passed through three generations of hands, its magical power is rich, making it a top-grade magical implement." Pangzi gazed at the sword's blade affectionately and said, "Quickly go give this sword several more layers of imperial command; tomorrow think of an excuse and give it to Wei Xiong." Having said that, he extended the sword toward me.

"All right… I'll go next door right away to empower it." Having said that, I took the Dragon Spring Sword, grabbed a few sticks of yellow incense, and prepared to leave the room.

Normally, I would be surprised that Pangzi would give away something so precious, but at this moment we both understand each other's feelings. As long as we can preserve our brother's life, we would not hesitate to give away not just one precious sword, but even ten.

Saying too much would be affected; at this moment Pangzi and I can only do our utmost to help Wei Xiong.

"Remember, this magical implement carries a heavy yang qi; be sure not to use your Yin Shan taboo, but you may use the taboo of Lu Shan or Mao Shan instead." Pangzi cautioned solemnly.

"All right, I understand." I nodded, kept Pangzi's admonition in mind, then took the yellow incense and left the room; we split up, I to empower the Dragon Spring Sword, while he presided over the borrowing of luck.

Upon entering the room, I did not dare delay; I hurriedly set up the altar and performed the rite, just as Pangzi had done, using the red paper as the altar diagram, except that the ancestral master was no longer the Yin Shan patriarch, but I invoked several deities of the Lu Shan tradition: the Nine Dragons Three Dukes, Zhang the Sage, the Three Holy Lords, and so on.

After the altar diagram was drawn, I placed the Dragon Spring Treasure Sword upon the tabletop. Without a doubt, this sword is an ancient magical implement; the moment I touched it, waves of scorching heat emanated from the blade, making me feel dizzy and palpitate.

This is the magical power and spiritual aura on the implement; if a consecrated object is effective, an ordinary person will feel this palpitation and dizziness when first wearing it, unless over time the object and the person gradually break in, after which these sensations will fade.

After chanting the elaborate invocation to the deities, I then took a stick of pure incense between the fingers of one hand forming the sword sign, focused my mind, held my breath, silently recited the incantation, and with my other right hand also formed the sword sign.

Upon the third stomp, I simultaneously shouted a command, and immediately afterward my right-hand sword sign cut the incense tip.

With a puff, the incense tip ignited without fire. Unlike Pangzi's earth-fire technique, mine was purely a matter of gathering magical power in the sword finger and cutting down upon the incense tip.

As for why I am doing this? Naturally, it is to strike the taboo into the Dragon Spring Treasure Sword.

This is a little-known procedure in the consecration rites, commonly used by practitioners of the Daoist tradition. Whether drawing talismans or consecrating objects, one must light a stick of pure incense, or trace the talisman according to the spell, or seal a layer of imperial command upon the object's talisman.

We call this procedure 'du ling'; sealing the imperial command directly into the magical implement is equivalent to directly empowering it with magical power.

Anyone who has ever assisted a Daoist practitioner will, to some extent, have witnessed such a scene: the Daoist directly lights a stick of pure incense, holds it in hand, and draws circular talismans in the void over a person's body; although this is not writing talismans on paper, it is likewise an invisible talisman, directly striking the imperial command into the person's body, and its effect is no less than that of a written talisman.

Moreover, in the process of du ling, the practitioner's own skill is thoroughly tested; the whole procedure must be completed in a single breath-hold, without leaking air or breathing, otherwise it is ineffective. If a person of shallow cultivation repeats this many times, after finishing the sealing he will be utterly exhausted, possibly even fainting.

This time, I focused my mind and held my breath, sealing not only the imperial command upon the Dragon Spring Treasure Sword, but also adding my personal destiny taboo within it.

The personal destiny taboo is a prohibition handed down from the ancestral master, its power incomparably strong. However, this taboo also has a drawback: if it is sealed upon a person's body and that person commits evil or does something conscience‑stricken, the Daoist himself will sense it and also be affected. Aside from this drawback, there are several benefits: first, its power is immense, causing all evils to retreat; second, if the person who has received the taboo meets with an accident, the Daoist himself will likewise feel a corresponding resonance.

All in all, including the personal destiny taboo, I sealed seven layers of imperial command, performing seven breath‑hold du ling sessions, and after each session I pricked my middle finger and dabbed the blood upon the hilt of the Dragon Spring Treasure Sword.

I stomped twenty‑one times, held my breath seven times, pierced seven fingers; after the sealing was complete, my magical power had been depleted by more than half, my whole body went limp, my hands and feet felt weak, and I nearly staggered and fell.

This is the manifestation of excessive depletion of magical power and essence‑qi‑spirit; were it not for my own brother, I would not have exerted myself so much in the consecration.

After resting a moment, I glanced at the clock and saw it had passed four o'clock in the morning; I dared not delay, took a sip of water, then took the Dragon Spring Sword and went to another room to look for Pangzi.

When I pushed the door open, I also saw Pangzi sitting on the bed with a pallid face, gasping for breath. Looking again at the tabletop, I could faintly see a red talisman on the garment, and beside the clothing lay a small bowl containing a little bit of reddish… blood.

"Pangzi…?" I exclaimed in shock; the bowl certainly did not hold ink, its viscous bloody smell was unmistakably Pangzi's essence blood.

At that moment, Pangzi sat on the bed with a pallid face, panting, his right hand tightly gripping the left wrist's major artery.

"Hurry… come help me, I can't stop the bleeding." Pangzi said weakly, his face pallid.

"The sun rises in the east, a point of red; my master hides within it; my master three times cuts the flowing water, one finger seals the red gate so blood does not flow… the great gold blade, the small slice blade, Laozi sits at the cave mouth, blood dares not flow, call it not to flow and it truly will not… I obey the Supreme Elder Lord's orders with vigor." I lifted Pangzi's wrist, recited the incantation, traced the talisman with the sword finger once, then made a single palm with my hand and pressed it over the wound.

This is the Daoist hemostatic incantation; the 'great gold blade' refers to the palm posture, the 'small slice blade' to the sword finger. When using the great gold blade, one forms the palm posture and covers the wound in the void; when using the small slice blade, one uses the sword finger to inscribe the talisman in the void over the wound.

Normally, using either one would suffice, but after having sealed the personal destiny taboo, my body and mind are utterly fatigued, my magical power weak. To be safe, I first used the sword finger, then the palm posture, employing both methods together.

After a while, I finally released Pangzi's wrist; at that point, the wrist was no longer dripping blood, only a small wound about half a centimeter wide remained in the vein.

"Pangzi, just taking a bit of essence blood to draw a talisman, do you have to be so harsh?" Looking at this wound nearly ten centimeters long, half a centimeter wide, I couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.

Pangzi spoke with a Tianjin accent, wanting to cry but no tears: "Damn it, I just wanted to use a bit of blood, who knew that when stopping the bleeding I wasn't careful. Afterwards the method consumed too much, this blood flowed out and I don't know either."

"But this wound... you bastard, what did you use to cut it?"

Pangzi pointed at the watermelon knife on the table, pursed his lips and said: "I couldn't find a blade, so I only used that thing mixed in."

Me:... using a watermelon knife to cut your wrist, isn't this self-inflicted?

While Wei Xiong hadn't woken up yet, the two of us hurriedly sneaked out to the living room, putting that shirt on Wei Xiong.

At this time Wei Xiong slept like a dead pig, not noticing our actions at all. But then I and Pangzi were both physically and mentally exhausted, our limbs weak; putting on that shirt for him made us toss and turn for nearly ten minutes.

"Hope it can help him!" A wave of fatigue rose in my mind, making me yawn involuntarily.

Pangzi replied in an indisputable tone: "Surely, as long as he wears this clothes for three days without changing, his calamity will be resolved by my fortune."

"Holy shit... what did you say, three days without changing! You're not joking with me, are you!" I jumped up, eyes wide as bulls, staring hard at Pangzi.

"What kind of joke is that, who would wear the same clothes for three days without changing?"

Pangzi shrugged his shoulders, helplessly said: "Three days is already the fastest time; think about it, the conversion of fortune also needs a gradual cyclical process! Being too radical will backfire."

I shook my head and gave a wry smile: "Then what can we do to make Wei Xiong wear this shirt continuously for three days?"

Pangzi patted my shoulder, then stretched, saying: "Don't worry, I've already thought of a reason; tomorrow... you just watch me."

After saying that, Pangzi let out a big yawn, fell back onto the sofa and slept.

"Hey hey... you tell me what the method is!" I shoved Pangzi hard, but found he slept like a dead pig; no matter how I pushed or called, I couldn't wake him.

Slowly, I also felt a wave of fatigue wandering in my mind, my eyelids began to flutter uncontrollably.

Finally I couldn't bear this fatigue, I collapsed onto Pangzi, closed my eyes, and fell asleep just like that.