Chapter 92: Cataclysm-averting Cat Sandalwood

Liu Junyan has changed suddenly these past two days.

Became extremely cloying.

He never used to call himself 'husband', but after the fake Ali appeared, it was he who became more emotionally sensitive.

He tries to show off his identity everywhere.

But I still refused: "There will be plenty of opportunities later; I just got my driver's license, so I'll first buy a commuter car to practice."

Liu Junyan didn't argue with me; the car sped all the way and soon arrived at Jin Wuya's home.

Jin Wuya lives in a small three-story building.

We knocked on the door, and after a while, Jin Wuya finally opened it.

He looked exhausted, his whole body listless, and the exposed skin on his arms and neck was covered in scratches.

He greeted me, then lifted his eyes to see Liu Junyan behind me, froze for a moment, then realized: "This... Liu... Immortal Master Liu?"

Liu Junyan nodded at him as a greeting.

Jin Wuya immediately perked up, let us in, poured tea, and sat down.

I pointed to the scratches on his body and asked, "What's going on?"

"I can't control that Cat Fiend," Jin Wuya said. "As soon as night falls, it runs wild, making me scratch myself all over, bang on the door, run around outside, and it doesn't calm down until dawn."

I frowned.

Liu Junyan, however, said: "But I don't see any evil aura on you."

Jin Wuya was stunned.

I quickly asked, "How exactly did you provoke that Cat Fiend? Can you tell me?"

"That day, after chatting with you, I made an appointment with Master Huiquan, bringing that cat bone for him to examine." Jin Wuya said, "Master Huiquan couldn't tell whether it was really a cat bone, but he recognized the scripture stuck inside the bone, saying it's a page from the Lotus Sutra."

"Master Huiquan told me that the Lotus Sutra is the king of scriptures, regarded as the highest realm of Buddhist cultivation. Hearing that, I was overjoyed—such a fine thing, after I remodel it with my own hands and sell it to those aristocratic old ladies, will surely bring a huge profit."

"Who would have thought that after nearly thirty years as a crafty artisan, I would capsize on this thing—my remodeling failed, and instead that Cat Fiend possessed me, tormenting me these past two nights to the point I want to die."

"Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, do you know where I woke up this morning? Don't worry about me laughing—I woke up in a trash bin on the opposite side of two streets."

Saying this, Jin Wuya almost burst into tears.

Before I could even speak, Jin Wuya's gaze suddenly froze, and then his expression, even his facial features, changed.

He bared his teeth and blew a gust of air at me, looking especially fierce.

Then he made a little hop and ended up on the table, knocking over the teacups.

He arched his body, making the defensive move a startled cat shows, then leapt and pounced at me headfirst.

Jin Wuya isn't short; if he came down like that, he could knock me out cold.

The next moment, I was yanked back; Liu Junyan shielded me behind him, his right hand forming a sword finger pointed at Jin Wuya's brow.

A shrill cat cry came from Jin Wuya's mouth; then his eyes rolled up and he collapsed flat on his back.

The whole process was swift, precise, and ruthless.

Still a bit shaken, I said, "Is... is that it? Liu Junyan, I didn't expect you to be this strong."

Liu Junyan laughed, ruffling my hair, and said, "It's not that I'm strong enough; it's that the other party isn't a Cat Fiend—it tormented Boss Jin, but didn't mean to harm him."

While speaking, he pinched Jin Wuya's philtrum to wake him up.

Jin Wuya first felt dazed, then came to, excitedly saying, "You just saw that, right? I'm being controlled by the Cat Fiend again—this life is unbearable."

"I said it's not a Cat Fiend," Liu Junyan said calmly. "If I'm not mistaken, this piece of cat bone in your hand should be one of the fragments of Cataclysm-averting Cat Sandalwood."

"Cataclysm-averting Cat Sandalwood? What is that?"

Jin Wuya also looked bewildered: "Immortal Master Liu, may I ask what Cataclysm-averting Cat Sandalwood is?"

Liu Junyan said, "Legend has it that the Buddhist sect once suffered a great calamity, all the scriptures in the temple were destroyed, but the king of scriptures, the Lotus Sutra, was carried out by a wholly black cat hidden inside cat bones. The black cat lost its fur, its flesh withered, endured all kinds of suffering and died; after death it transformed into the Cataclysm-averting Sandalwood Envoy, enshrined by temples and honored as the Cat Sandalwood Bodhisattva."

Upon hearing this, Jin Wuya immediately put his palms together and repeatedly apologized: "So it's the Cat Sandalwood Bodhisattva; I was rude. My little temple can't possibly afford to support a bodhisattva—please don't blame me, please don't blame me."

Liu Junyan then added, "But later, with years of war and turbulent times, the physical form of the Cat Sandalwood Bodhisattva enshrined before the Buddha was seized, all nine cat bones were lost; where did you acquire this piece?"

"At the Ghost Market," Jin Wuya said. "A Great Lama traded it to me; I could tell at a glance it was a good thing, and he seemed eager to sell it, so I exchanged it for an antique I estimated to be worth around ten thousand at market price."

I immediately said, "Boss Jin, you might be in trouble."

Jin Wuya startled, then realized: "Back then, the Cat Bone Bodhisattva's flesh shattered into nine pieces; this is one of them. You mean I've been targeted?"

"Quite possible," Liu Junyan said. "Cataclysm-averting Cat Sandalwood, having been baptized by Buddhist law and undergone the ordeal of the sea of karma's purgatory, shouldn't be so volatile; this piece you hold is only one-ninth—perhaps someone wants to collect them all."

Jin Wuya slapped his thigh, indignant: "No wonder that Great Lama was so eager to unload it—he was being watched, using me as a lightning rod!"

He then asked, "So what should I do now? Should I send it to a temple for enshrinement?"

Liu Junyan said nothing, but gave me a subtle glance.

I immediately understood: "Boss Jin, perhaps we can do business between us."

Jin Wuya's mind raced; without me spelling it out, he grasped my meaning.

He hesitated a moment, then smiled: "I know the rules of our pawn shop—I'll pawn the cat bone at the pawn shop, and Immortal Master Liu will help me dispel the Cat Fiend… oh, no, not that, but the Cat Sandalwood Bodhisattva, right?"

I nodded: "Of course, I won't let you lose out. You exchanged an antique worth about ten thousand for this cat bone; I'll buy it for fifty thousand."

Jin Wuya waved his hand: "Why be polite with Xiao Jiu Zhanggui? Leaving aside our past friendship, I'm keeping this cat bone because: one, I can't subdue it nor afford to enshrine it; two, I'm constantly watched by those with ill intent—maybe one day I'll lose my life over this bone. If you're willing to take it, I'm grateful beyond words; I couldn't possibly take your money."

Saying that, he stood up: "I'll pack up now and go with you to the pawn shop to finish the paperwork."

All the way back to the pawn shop, the sky was already turning light.

What surprised me was that this time Jin Wuya actually went straight into the Nan Shu Fang.

I was writing a pawn ticket when Li Qingying stood aside, speaking in a sarcastic tone: "Yo, Boss Jin, why are you stepping onto our pawn shop's turf today? Aren't you afraid of stirring up karma and inviting retribution?"