Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Agony exploded through my previously numb right shoulder!
The old ghost’s wounds felt as though someone were pouring nails into them.
“Ah! It hurts!”
I could not hold back my scream.
But hearing me cry out seemed to reassure Aunt Qin. “If you can still feel pain, the problem isn’t too serious. Bear with it, Little Wu.”
As she spoke, she already held a writing brush loaded with ink mixed from mugwort, rooster blood, and cinnabar. She rapidly wrote characters and drew sigils across my body.
In moments, dense markings covered my upper torso.
By then, the pain in my right shoulder had eased considerably.
Aunt Qin discarded the brush and began circling me between the blazing braziers.
She chanted under her breath. Her steps possessed a special rhythm–two light, one heavy–and their rise and fall gathered her qi while gradually calming my mind.
Only later did I learn that this technique was called the Nuo Step.
Glancing toward my right shoulder, I discovered black blood bubbling from the wound, along with wisps of smoky black energy…
“Damn! That’s so much blood. If it keeps flowing like this, how can I survive?”
The sight frightened me.
But I trusted Aunt Qin not to harm me. Besides, the blood was pitch-black, clearly tainted by malicious energy and ghost poison.
Fortunately, bright red blood soon began flowing from the wound instead.
Aunt Qin stopped moving and asked my parents to toss gauze and bandages into the circle. She caught them, stopped the bleeding, and dressed my wound.
“All right, Little Wu. The malicious energy and ghost poison have been completely expelled. Only now have you truly survived your second life tribulation. Don’t wash off these sigils. They’ll disappear on their own in a few days.”
As she spoke, she helped me stand.
Once we left the circle of braziers, she handed me to my parents.
“Immortal Lady, my son…”
“He’s fine. Just weak. Let him recuperate at home for several days and feed him nutritious food.”
“Thank you, Immortal Lady. Thank you.”
Looking at the Immortal Lady, my mother wiped her tears with the back of one hand, ready to kneel.
Aunt Qin merely nodded. Without another word, she turned and left.
As I watched her depart, I made a decision!
For the next three days, my parents did nothing but stay home with me. Every day, they prepared fish, meat, and all manner of rich dishes to restore my strength.
Pig’s feet in particular–one every day, and I could not leave the table until I finished.
I thought I might eat my family into poverty!
At last, my body felt nearly recovered and my parents returned to their work. The first thing I did was go find Aunt Qin.
I jogged all the way to her ruined house at the edge of the village.
It was morning, and Aunt Qin happened to be sitting on the large stone outside, basking in the sun.
“Hee-hee, ha-ha. Little Wu is here. Come bask in the sun with me. Or shall we catch lice and eat them together?”
She had returned to her madcap state.
But this time, I said nothing.
I dropped to my knees, knocked my head against the ground three times, then declared loudly, “Aunt Qin, I want to become your disciple. I want you as my Master! Teach me your wondrous abilities.”
That was my decision.
All my life, my parents had said that my light bazi and strange fate made me prone to colliding with unclean things and attracting evil entities. They told me to be careful.
But what good did constant avoidance do?
When one encountered a problem, one naturally had to find a way to solve it!
Since my childhood, Aunt Qin had displayed countless wondrous abilities: delivering a drowned revenant, curing the weasel spirit’s victim, destroying an old ghost… A true expert already stood before me. Naturally, becoming her disciple was the best choice.
Aunt Qin suddenly fell silent.
The atmosphere became oppressive.
I rose, dusted myself off, and asked timidly, “Aunt Qin, are you angry? I’m sorry. I… I truly want to learn from you.”
Gathering my courage, I looked up at her.
After a long while, she released a deep sigh.
“Little Wu, do you understand how great a karmic debt you would bear by taking me as your Master? Do you understand how great a karmic debt I would bear by accepting someone with your Featherborn birth chart and Demonic-Star Mystic-Qi destiny as my disciple?”
I shook my head, but my gaze remained determined.
“Aunt Qin, I don’t really understand any of that. I know my bazi and fate cause trouble. But if you’re willing to accept me, no difficulty will frighten me! Whatever happens, I’ll stand by you and do everything I can to help and protect you.”
“Of course, if you don’t want to, I understand. You’ve already saved my life. I shouldn’t ask for too much.”
I finished and looked at her, awaiting the final answer.
I knew she was looking at me as well. Behind the tangled, filthy curtain of hair, her bright eyes met mine.
I was desperately nervous.
Both hands clenched into fists, my palms damp with sweat.
I truly wanted to become her disciple, and I was terrified she would refuse!
When someone becomes extremely anxious, their perception of time distorts. It felt as though centuries passed…
At last, Aunt Qin sighed deeply again.
“Little Wu, I don’t know whether choosing Wujia Village as my place of seclusion was a blessing or a curse for you.”
She fell silent once more.
Then she seemed to reach a decision. Humor and freedom entered her voice.
“Forget it. I’m no charlatan obsessed with divination and fortune-telling, muttering all day about destiny and luck. My arcane lineage studies techniques and believes in the self. If fate is unkind, we fight heaven for a better one! The fact that you came to ask me as your Master means you don’t believe in fate either.”
“Right!”
I nodded vigorously.
I was old enough to understand my circumstances, especially since my parents had never hidden anything from me. I knew about the three mortal life tribulations I would face before fifteen.
A wandering Taoist had helped me survive the first.
Aunt Qin had helped me survive the second.
What about the third?
I could not entrust my hope of survival to other people forever!
My father had taught me from childhood that a person must be independent and strong.
Ever since Aunt Qin brought me home several days earlier, I had been thinking: if I possessed her abilities–or even half of them–would I still end up so helpless and always need rescue?
I did not believe in fate!
I wanted to escape my life tribulations.
That was why I took the initiative and asked her to accept me.
Her shining eyes studied me as she spoke earnestly.
“Since this is truly your desire, I agree to accept you as my disciple! From now on, whenever you have time, come here and learn from me. But you must not neglect your ordinary studies. The mystic arts are not the opposite of science. In fact, they require an extremely deep understanding of it.”
Joy overwhelmed me.
I bowed to the ground again. “Aunt… no, Master, please accept this bow from your disciple!”