Chapter 133: with translation of chapter title

The west room's wall-mounted Buddha shrine has several dozen offering niches; if they all return smoothly and are under my command, I truly cannot imagine how magnificent it will be then.

If that day truly comes, wherever I go I will be met with a hundred responses to a single call.

And such a scene, in this pawnshop, seems to have existed before.

What turmoil occurred back then that led to the destruction of the sculptures and tablets enshrined on the offering niches? Was the entire west room sealed?

The White Immortal who once barely squeezed into the corner of these offering niches—how did she come to this point?

All of this, the former Liu Junyan, like me, knew nothing.

And how much does the present him understand?

Liu Junyan appears unchanged on the surface, but in fact he is no longer the original him.

Take, for example, just now during intimacy… I also sensed the changes in his body.

I was lost in thought about these things until Liu Junyan's finger stroked my right cheek, moving back and forth over that red mark on the lower side of my cheek, at which point I snapped back to awareness.

"What is this?"

As Liu Junyan asked, his hand already carried a trace of true qi.

As the true qi flowed in, the temperature of my right cheek gradually rose, and the "slave" character reappeared clearly.

Liu Junyan stared at that character, his amber vertical pupils constricting; his gaze was complex, as if recalling yet also angry.

Soon he seemed to think of something, his eyes tinged with a hint of sorrow and reluctance: "No wonder…"

I silently waited for him to continue, but Liu Junyan ultimately only uttered those two words.

But those two words conveyed much information; I asked, "Do you know the origin of this character?"

Liu Junyan shook his head: "Xiao Jiu, do you still remember that painting?"

I froze for a moment, then realized he was referring to the painting Tang Xun gave me.

That painting is still kept in the hidden compartment of the wardrobe; it depicts a girl wearing a half‑gold mask… a mask?

I touched the "slave" character on my cheek, and instantly I understood as well.

So, that half‑gold mask exists to cover that "slave" character?

So why has Ah Li known Liu Junyan and Hu Yulin for so many years yet never revealed her real name, with everyone only calling her "Ah Li"?

Because the "li" in Ah Li is not the "li" of Feng Li Zhu, but rather the "li" of "slave".

This name is a disgrace, a pain Ah Li can never speak of.

"A flaw does not hide the jade." Liu Junyan suddenly lowered his head and lightly kissed that character, saying, "Xiao Jiu, no matter what you become, you are the one I love most in my heart, irreplaceable by anyone."

He kissed my cheek almost devoutly, trying to give me sufficient security.

I, however, smiled openly.

Perhaps when I first discovered the "slave" character, I felt confusion and panic, but now I think more about how, the next time I face Feng Li Zhu, I can avoid her control over me.

I can't just smash her mouth every time we meet, can I?

Having learned from a setback, this time Feng Li Zhu was careless, giving me an opportunity; what about next time?

Thinking this through, I asked Liu Junyan, "Is there a way to break a one‑character spell or spirit‑command?"

I recounted to Liu Junyan in detail how Feng Li Zhu had controlled me this time.

After listening, the hand he had on my shoulder tightened further: "First, what Feng Li Zhu used on you is probably not a simple spirit‑command or one‑character spell; second, her control over you, residing in this 'slave' character, will persist unless the character is completely eradicated… or… she dies; otherwise, the control should remain."

Just as I smashed her mouth with my fist, only temporarily breaking her spell, but as soon as she forms the seal again, I will be controlled by her once more.

Theoretically, if Feng Li Zhu can form the seal quickly enough, I would have no way to truly escape her grasp.

I gave a wry smile and said, "I should be glad this control can only be activated when we meet face‑to‑face; otherwise, if she merely wishes it, I would never have a moment of peace."

I did not foolishly ask Liu Junyan again how to wash away this "slave" character.

Because if it were possible, Ah Li would have done it long ago; she wouldn't wait until now.

The rain was still falling; I nestled in Liu Junyan's embrace and fell into a drowsy sleep.

At first my sleep was somewhat restless, because Liu Junyan would occasionally kiss me.

The corners of my eyes, my cheeks, even my hand held by him and brought to his lips, were lightly touched.

He must have been thinking about something, right?

As I slowly drifted into deep sleep, I seemed to hear him murmur in my ear: "There will be a way, Xiao Jiu; I won't let you follow the same path as in your past life."

A winter rainy day is very suitable for sleeping.

I slept so soundly that when I woke again, the room was completely dark.

Liu Junyan was no longer by my side; I dazedly burrowed under the blankets for a while before reaching to turn on the light, glanced at my phone, and saw it was already past five in the evening.

My stomach growled with hunger; I got up, changed clothes, and went to the kitchen to find something to eat.

The pot held hot food; Li Qingying had already eaten and was now in the room talking on the phone with Jin Wuya.

I was curious, so I held my rice bowl and moved closer to listen for a while; it turned out the oil for maintaining the long whip had run out, and Li Qingying was asking Jin Wuya if he had any connections to obtain more.

Jin Wuya said the deep‑sea whale oil of that quality he had sent before is rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; he has none left, but perhaps he can help find a substitute.

They chatted a bit more, and Jin Wuya invited Li Qingying to go together to the ghost market on the fifteenth of this month to try their luck.

Li Qingying turned her head and asked me, "Xiao Jiu, are you going to the ghost market on the fifteenth?"

"The day after tomorrow is the fifteenth, but I still have many things to sort out, so I won't go." I said, "You and Boss Jin go together; our pawnshop will open its doors wide to both yin and yang realms, and we may later acquire many more, possibly sinister items—seeing more with Boss Jin can only do us good."

Li Qingying nodded.

On the other end of the phone, hearing my voice, Jin Wuya exclaimed excitedly, "Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, news has spread outside that the main deity of Wufu Town Pawnshop has returned to its throne—is that true? Which deity is it?"

Ah?

This remark left both me and Li Qingying stunned.

How could I have slept once and outside already become like this?

I was about to say there was no such thing as a main deity returning, when suddenly I thought of the Copper Coin Person on the main seat of the west room's spirit shrine, and I froze.

So, could it be that the "return of the main deity" spoken of by the outside world is actually referring to that Copper Coin Person?

Liu Junyan made a deal with the Copper Coin Person, awakening something—could it be that what awakened was… a godhood?

No, that's not right.

This little Wufu Town Pawnshop—how could it afford to support any deity?

Those enshrined in the shrine offering shelf are nothing more than animal immortals—at most, they could only be considered spirits.

Especially that Copper Coin Person seated in the main position—although wearing a monk's robe and holding prayer beads, shows no trace of divinity at all.

He gives me the feeling of being… an Evil Cultivator…