Chapter 22: Two Fates Coexist

The woman before me had actually bound her feet!

If I remember correctly, this foot-binding trash was abolished as early as 1912.

In other words, this woman's birthdate must be traced back to before the Republic of China.

So, the person who had her sliced to pieces definitely wasn't the Town Mayor and his son.

The woman suddenly turned around, knife in hand, and walked out.

She seemed to be responding to some kind of summons, and her time outside was limited.

Li Qingying also said last night that she was being drawn back to the Town Mayor's residence by an invisible force.

Seeing her about to leave again with the deal unfinished, I couldn't get a word out and felt somewhat anxious.

Li Qingying couldn't stop her either.

In the panic, I suddenly thought of something and blurted out: "Um, do you know Zhao Zixun?"

Zhao Zixun was also a person from the Republic of China era.

But before the woman could answer, her body swayed violently, and in the next instant she vanished at the entrance of Dang Pu.

Li Qingying turned to look at me: "She's been sucked back."

The two of us stared at each other, feeling inexplicably lost.

This night passed again in calm and stillness.

The next day, I took on a job.

Not a Dang Pu job, but a paper-craft order from the Funeral Shop.

In a village north of town, an elder had passed away and had ordered several paper-craft items from me; I packed them early and delivered them by electric tricycle.

Such tasks were often done by my grandmother when she was alive; they were regular customers.

Li Qingying wasn't at ease with me going alone, so she insisted on coming along.

The electric tricycle is small to begin with, packed tight with paper people, paper horses, and even a paper villa; Li Qingying and I squeezed in the front, heading out of town toward the village, the ride was bumpy, and we nearly tipped into the rice fields together with the vehicle.

Fortunately, it was a scare without injury.

Upon arriving at the client's home, as they helped unload the paper-craft items and we settled payment at the doorway, I felt a gaze burning into me.

Turning my head, I saw in the direction of the gaze an old Daoist wearing a Daoist robe, a Daoist cap, with a small tuft of beard, holding a whisk, looking at me thoughtfully.

He looked… exactly like a charlatan dressed up as a Daoist.

I withdrew my gaze, got back on the vehicle, and before I could start it, the old Daoist walked over in a couple of steps and blocked the front.

Li Qingying immediately went on guard.

The old Daoist stroked his small beard, staring again and again at the point between my eyebrows, then said: "Miss, I see your yintang is dark; have you been entangled by something unclean these past few days?"

Li Qingying rolled her eyes straight: "You're the unclean thing, get out of the way!"

The old Daoist wasn't annoyed; he glanced at Li Qingying and said: "A broken horn makes it hard to leap the Dragon Gate, what a pity."

Li Qingying and I both froze instantly.

When I first went to look for Li Qingying, Liu Junyan had me ask just one sentence: "Do you have any red carp with broken horns for sale?"

After finding Li Qingying, I didn't think much of it; I only knew she was someone Liu Junyan said I could absolutely trust.

Now thinking about it, Li Qingying's true form is probably none other than that red carp with a broken horn.

What background does this old Daoist have, that he can see all this at a glance?

Li Qingying opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing, though her aura visibly weakened.

The old Daoist then turned to look at me again: "My humble Daoist name is Hui Quan; I am the abbot of the Qingquan Daoist Temple on Qingquan Mountain. We have met here by fate; if you ever need anything, young friend, you may come to the Qingquan Daoist Temple to find me."

Saying that, he actually pulled out a business card from his pocket and handed it over.

Truly keeping up with the times!

Out of politeness, I reached out to take it.

But the moment I gripped the corner of the card, Hui Quan seized my hand, flipped it over forcefully, and my palm was opened up, exposed before everyone.

I was startled and let out a cry.

Li Qingying reached out to strike the old Daoist, who dodged with a flash, yet still hadn't released my hand, clicking his tongue repeatedly: "Strange, truly strange!"

I gave Li Qingying a reassuring look, then asked: "Where is it strange?"

Hui Quan furrowed his brows and said: "Just now, observing your appearance from afar, I only saw a black qi swirling between your eyebrows, as if entangled by something unclean; but beneath that black qi, a red and a golden light flickered faintly, which is the manifestation of a Pure Yang Body, and your destiny should also have a noble patron accompanying you."

He paused there, seeming unwilling to give up, his finger tracing the lines on my right palm back and forth for a while before saying: "This shouldn't be; I wouldn't misread it. You ought to be a Pure Yang Body, so why does your palm reading look like the manifestation of a Pure Yin Body?"

Pure Yin Body?

Indeed.

The Town Mayor said, didn't he, that Wufu Town must sacrifice a Pure Yin Body every thirty years to suppress the curse.

I am the target precisely because of that.

But why does the old Daoist also say I am a Pure Yang Body?

Can a person simultaneously possess both Pure Yang and Pure Yin fates?

As I was lost in my thoughts, the old Daoist finally released my hand, but still unwilling to let go, he said: "Miss, if you don't mind, could you tell me your birth date and time? I'll help you calculate it…"

"No."

I didn't wait for him to finish, refusing outright without hesitation.

Joking aside, if he were just an ordinary person, I probably wouldn't be on high alert.

But he saw through Li Qingying at a glance; such a person obviously has some cultivation.

If he meant me harm, a single birth date could torment me to the brink of death.

Though I am curious about my own fate, curiosity killed the cat.

I started the tricycle, Li Qingying leapt aboard, and the tricycle carried us away in a swirl of dust.

On the way back, I was driving and obviously a bit distracted, my mind kept thinking about what the old Daoist said, and I then asked: "Qingying Sis, the old Daoist said I'm entangled by something dirty—could that be the woman from the past two nights?"

Li Qingying, while helping me hold the handlebars, said, "Maybe."

"Now that I think about it, the opportunity for that woman's appearance is indeed rather subtle." I pondered carefully: "She suddenly appeared at the entrance of Dang Pu, but her comings and goings are not under her own control, showing she is subject to some restriction from the Town Mayor's household."

The Town Mayor's household enshrines the Yellow Immortal, so the force suppressing her is likely related to the Yellow Immortal.

And that day I went to the Town Mayor's household, I almost got nailed to death inside the red coffin on the attic…

"Yes, the red coffin!"

I clapped excitedly, having already forgotten I was driving.

Li Qingying, with both hands on the tricycle's handlebars, teased: "My little grandaunt, you'd better pay attention!"

I scratched my head guiltily, after completely handing over the handlebars to Li Qingying, I continued: "Qingying Sis, I remember now—at the Town Mayor's household, Huang Jiaobao almost drove the coffin nail into my glabella; I dodged, but my glabella was still cut, bled, inside the red coffin."

Li Qingying instantly understood: "You mean, your glabellar blood opened a gap in that woman's seal, giving her a chance to cling to you?"

I nodded straight: "Right, bolder guess—there should also be some connection between that woman and that red coffin."

That red coffin is too red, as if soaked in blood.

At the time, lying inside the coffin, I felt something was off.

But the situation was too urgent then; all my energy was focused on the Town Mayor and his people, so I momentarily overlooked the coffin itself.

Now thinking it over carefully, I realized the inside of that red coffin isn't solid wood, but rather… it seems… like a layer of skin is laid inside…