Chapter 537: with translation of chapter title

Ha! a shout like a tiger's roar came, Yang Qiye's horse stance didn't move, stable as Mount Tai, he held a fist with one hand, and punched fiercely at the stiff corpse; when the corpse fell to the ground, Yang Qiye quickly locked his limbs, then flipped him over. I and Pangzi were both stunned seeing, Yang Qiye's red palm actually sucked out a prismatic elongated object from the corpse's two feet.

On our side, it was also coming to an end, as a chill dispersed from Han Duo's eyes and nose, Pangzi finally relaxed, putting away the silver needles.

"Qiye, what is this?" I stared fixedly at the two prismatic elongated objects in Qiye's hand; these two things were like ice cubes, emitting a chill, and there was a feeling inside them that made me feel very uncomfortable.

Qiye gave a cold snort: "Jutting talisman, heretical ways." With a clang, he clenched both hands and crushed the two things in one grip.

Seeing his grim expression, I didn't dare ask more. I had to carry Han Duo on my back, Pangzi held the unconscious child, and our group started walking down the mountain.

On the road, we hailed a taxi, the four of us piled into the cab, and had the driver take us back to Chan Yi Hall.

When we put Han Duo down in the main hall, the clock on the wall had already passed two a. m. Yang Qiye sat in the rocking chair at the center of the hall, his face continually gloomy, unknown what he was thinking.

I fetched a small coal stove from the room, placed it beside Han Duo and lit it; the chill on Han Duo's body was heavy, so we needed to use the stove's heat to dispel the cold.

I was about to ask Pangzi why such a coincidence had occurred, but Yang Qiye sank his face and first asked me: "Hai Sheng, how did you get to that place and run into that thing?"

"Oh, it's like this: I and my friend were looking for clues related to the murder case, so we went..." Although surprised, I still recounted the whole story to Yang Qiye in detail. I hid nothing, from Han Duo being invited, to the innocent children who died in Tong Yuan Bay... I told Yang Qiye everything in full.

Yang Qiye's expression all night was strange; looking at him, I recalled the old woman who came to Chan Yi Hall to cast a curse on us. I don't know why, but I feel these two things are connected. Because in my impression, Yang Qiye has always been hot-tempered, rarely showing such solemn oddness on his face.

"This matter, you and Xiaoqiang don't worry about it. Xiaoqiang, call your dad and have him come back immediately..." Yang Qiye's solemn expression also carried a hint of tension.

"Why?" I asked, puzzled: "Why can't I interfere?"

Yang Qiye stroked his beard, paced back with small steps to the side hall, leaving me standing in the main hall.

Suspicious, I could only turn my eyes toward Pangzi….

Pangzi shrugged: "Don't look at me; honestly, I'm even more clueless than you—I've had no idea what's going on from the start."

"Tch, you're just bragging. If you don't know, how could you show up with Yang Qiye so timely?" With my intelligence, I could never believe his words.

Pangzi spread his hands, looking innocent as he said: "I really don't know. I and Yang Qiye were escorting the ashes back to the temple. Halfway there, Yang Qiye inexplicably changed direction and ran off. I, Pangzi, chased him all night, damn it, and when I caught up, I saw you and that fiery little girl."

Pangzi told me that he and Yang Qiye were preparing to go to the Huanglong Cave on Wudang Mountain in Hubei for secluded cultivation, because there are many medicinal herbs there, and the Daoist priests on Wudang Mountain are especially proficient in studying the medical arts. Although Yang Qiye comes from the Fajiao tradition, he also gets along well with several renowned Daoist masters. Having taken Pangzi as his disciple, he planned to bring him along for some exchange.

Who would have thought that halfway there, Yang Qiye and Pangzi encountered a procession of monks—monks that Yang Qiye knew, a group from the Eastern Suburb Temple. They were going to attend a Water-Land Dharma Exchange, but the presiding abbot suddenly passed away midway. Out of old friendship, Yang Qiye temporarily set aside his plan to go to Hubei and instead accompanied these monks to escort the eminent monk's ashes back to the temple.

As a result, when we were nearing the temple in Shenzhen, Yang Qiye suddenly changed direction again. The speed of his turn was comparable to a Benz doing ninety miles per hour—so fast that even Pangzi couldn't react.

"Pangzi, you said Yang Qiye suddenly changed direction—did you notice any strange phenomenon? Or did anyone appear nearby when he suddenly turned around?" I guessed that Yang Qiye must have seen something.

Pangzi didn't even think, immediately nodding and saying: "Yes, when Yang Qiye suddenly turned and ran, he stared at the ground for a long time. When I caught up, I turned back and glanced at that spot, and saw a line of tiny white things."

In Pangzi's words, that line of tiny white liquid resembled a man's… that thing, but the smell—Pangzi knew at a whiff that it contained a woman's heavenly kui blood, very yin and evil,

"I say… Pangzi, don't you find it disgusting?" I felt chills run through my body, and what made me utterly lose composure was that Pangzi was still holding a bun and a cup of milk, chewing it with relish.

Pangzi held the bun, his expression unchanged, and gave me a sideways glance: "Have you ever been to a funeral home? People there get corpse oil on their hands, just wipe it off casually, then pick up an apple and eat it. I'm not like you—I've never even touched that stuff, so why wouldn't I dare to eat?"

"I'm utterly in awe of you, Pangzi… …Wait, what did you just say?" I stared at Pangzi, asking, he seemed to have just said that I'd gotten something like a man's sperm on me?

Pangzi didn't speak, just pointed at my back. I took off my jacket and looked— I almost threw up. The black jacket was now covered in white splotches, and when I smelled it, there was a nauseating odor that made me want to vomit.

I rushed into the restroom and vomited violently. Pangzi's tolerance is something I could never match even if I flattered him. Just thinking that I'd been in contact with that disgusting substance for so long without noticing anything, I felt a wave of chills run through my body.

After coming out of the restroom, Pangzi was, however, searching for something on the bookshelf?

"Pangzi, what are you looking for?" I asked.

Pangzi handed over a yellowed book; I opened it and immediately threw it back. I've always hated pre-Republican typesetting—vertical layout, right-to-left reading—it just annoys me. Moreover, this book is so bad you could use it to wipe your ass; who can tell what nonsense he's written?

"After a person dies, the three spiritual souls return to heaven and the seven corporeal souls return to earth. The flesh becomes a corpse, but among the Three Teachings and Nine Schools, the unorthodox paths, there is a practice distinct from the corpse‑driving tradition—controlling corpses." Pangzi picked up the ancient book from the ground and said to me: "Just now Yang Qiye mentioned the upright talisman; it's also described here."

I suddenly grew nervous, glanced toward Yang Qiye's room, then fixed my gaze on Pangzi and asked: "What? What does the book say?"

Pangzi said: "The upright talisman, also called jue, refers to cold invading the feet; when it congeals in the feet, it is jue. The jue talisman is a mantra outside the thirty‑six gate talisman canon, using ice as its medium, heavenly kui as the offering, and then the cat as the corporeal soul…"

The first two sentences are medical theory and can be ignored, but the latter two I caught a hint of: corpse‑driving and corpse‑controlling, basically moving the hun and po. After death, if the hun enters the body it's possession; if the po remains in the body without the hun it's a corpse feigning death; when a Daoist adept comes to control it, it's corpse control.

"Is there more detailed information about this upright talisman, such as the ritual refinement method and how to break it?" I asked, frowning.

Pangzi widened his eyes, utterly bewildered, and said: "This book doesn't record it, and besides, you shouldn't be asking me!"

I asked him, "Then who should I ask?" Pangzi pointed his finger at me.

"Me…?" I widened my eyes. "This has nothing to do with me—I can handle ghost control, but when it comes to corpse control, all I'm good for is being the corpse that's controlled."

Pangzi picked his nose and said to me: "The Yinshan Fajiao is renowned as the most yin sect of the Xuanmen; it excels at ghost and corpse control, even matching the Chen Prefecture corpse‑driving tradition without falling short."

Pangzi's words reminded me—could it really be that? But I've only learned a fraction of the Yinshan method; not even I, let alone my master Li Feng, have inherited more than a tenth of the Yinshan Fajiao. I've barely learned anything of the martial aspect of the twofold literary‑martial arts, let alone this profound and vast corpse‑control art.

"Tch, unlearned and inept." Pangzi disparaged me with a remark, leaving me with his long retreating back.

At that moment I felt like beating him up, but thinking of the unconscious Han Duo, I restrained myself.

Pangzi and I walked to the bedside; I touched the unconscious child's head and asked Pangzi, "Big Pang, what's wrong with this kid? Could something happen?" I was a little worried.

Pangzi chuckled and said confidently: "Don't worry, this child has merely been given a jianghu school's bewitching incense; he'll wake up soon. As for this Han Duo…"

"What's wrong with Han Duo?" Before Pangzi could finish, I pressed on anxiously.

"Tch, I'd long guessed you two had something going on, but I never imagined you'd hook up this quickly." Pangzi raised his eyebrows and gave a lecherous laugh.

Touching Han Duo's icy limbs, I had no mood to joke with Pangzi; I urged him: "Cut it out, think of a solution—you said you'd already forced the cold toxin out of her, so why isn't she waking up?"

"Tch, do you think she's a reincarnated Calabash Brother? Even if the cold toxin is forced out, it's still run through her body. Any normal person—never mind having the cold toxin run through them, just sleeping in a fridge would lay them out."

As Pangzi was speaking, a slow yet distinct knocking sounded outside the Chan Yi Hall.

"Go open the door!" Pangzi told me.

I laid Han Duo down, walked to the doorway, and opened the main door. Yet the moment I opened it, I was stunned.

Outside the doorway stood a woman extraordinarily "alluring"—her allure excessive. In the freezing cold she wore a set of stockings and a skirt, draped in a bright red coat, and sprayed with an unnamed but strong perfume. At first glance you'd think she was a young maiden, but on closer look… she must be in her forties, with a thick layer of foundation painted on her face, white as a ghost.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Chen Hai Sheng? I'm Li Li, the one you just spoke with on the phone." She suddenly smiled at me, placed a hand on my shoulder, and said: "Sir, you pay first, then I'll come in."

Me: …speechless…

What kind of situation is this? What phone call? What payment? What did I just do?