Chapter 8
Chapter 8
In the early eighties, modern lighting didn’t exist yet.
Every household used old-fashioned light bulbs-the round kind with a tungsten filament inside.
They cast a dim, yellow glow. Under this light, the infant’s snow-white skin looked particularly striking.
The Qingfeng Hall Beheaded Ghost spoke up.
“If you want to keep the filthy things from finding the child, there is only one way: give him a new skin!”
“Completely seal all his spiritual apertures!”
“But doing this is equivalent to severing any path he might have for future cultivation.”
Old Li didn’t care one bit about cultivation. In the old man’s heart, the power of the working people was infinite; any demons or ghosts could step aside! Old Li was only concerned with whether this skin-changing process was dangerous.
Deaf Granny understood Old Li’s thoughts and said, “Changing the skin carries some risk, but it’s better than being targeted by filthy things every day.”
“There are thieves who wait for a thousand days, but no one can guard against a thief for a thousand days. Besides, we can’t guarantee the Snow Corpse will keep helping us.”
“After all, it will take two years. That’s not a short time!”
Old Li knew Deaf Granny was right, so he stopped hesitating. “Change the skin? Whose skin are we using? Let’s get one thing straight: we can’t do anything wicked or immoral!”
Though the Beheaded Ghost looked terrifying, he was actually quite kind-hearted.
“Old Li, don’t worry. We practice the righteous path and focus on accumulating hidden merit. We won’t do anything wicked.”
He was about to say more when Wang San interrupted with a miserable face.
“Ghost Grandpa, could you please not rest your head on my lap? I’m a little scared…”
The heavy atmosphere lightened considerably after Wang San’s outburst.
The Beheaded Ghost sighed helplessly, picked up his own head, and floated over to Deaf Granny’s side.
“It’s a pity! Even if we want to change the child’s skin, it won’t be easy.”
“Ordinary skin won’t work. We need a spiritual creature with at least a thousand years of cultivation.”
“But who among such beings would be willing to flay their own skin and give it to someone else?”
It was true. In the feudal era, the most cruel punishments involved flaying skin and pulling out tendons. One could only imagine how agonizing “flaying” was for a living creature.
Deaf Granny murmured to herself, “Yes, where can we find such a skin? We can’t afford to waste time!”
Eighth Master Chang, the spirit medium, felt he had acted dishonorably by fleeing earlier. Naturally, he wanted to prove his worth now.
“The skin of a spiritual creature with a thousand years of cultivation is enough? Are there no other specific requirements?”
The Beheaded Ghost nodded. “A thousand years of cultivation is fine. No other requirements.”
Eighth Master Chang forced his body to sway, coiling himself up. “Good. Leave this matter to me. I can get one right now!”
Seeing everyone’s skeptical looks, Eighth Master Chang grew a bit annoyed.
“What are you looking at? Don’t you believe me?”
“I can’t speak for other things, but the ancestors of my Chang Family have left behind many Shed Skins over the generations!”
Everyone’s eyes lit up at his words.
Right! How could they forget that snakes shed their skin?
Furthermore, the Chang Family of spirit mediums had a long history; having a few thousand-year-old snake skins was hardly surprising.
The highest realm of snake cultivation was to transform into a dragon. This involved several stages, and at each stage, the original skin had to be shed.
After five hundred years of cultivation, a snake becomes a Hui. A Hui usually stays in the water and is much larger than a snake.
After another five hundred years of cultivation, a Hui becomes a Jiao. At this point, its body has the five-colored luster of brocade, and it grows four legs.
To go a step further, a Jiao must ride the currents and head straight for the sea. This is the cause of many floods. Ancient people called this process the Walking Jiao.
Once a Jiao reaches the sea, it takes a thousand years to become a Qiu, known as a Qiu Dragon. As the name suggests, this is an early form of a dragon.
As for the Horned Dragon, Ying Dragon, and Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, those were legendary beings that no one had ever seen. Even the records of Eighth Master Chang’s family of spirit mediums had no mention of them.
Each of these stages required surviving various tribulations. It wasn’t just a matter of living long enough. Out of a hundred thousand snakes that achieved some level of cultivation, it was lucky if even one could transform into a Jiao.
A snake that reached the level of a Jiao was a supreme power in its region. As long as it didn’t do anything to provoke the wrath of gods and men, it could live freely for a very long time.
Once the plan was set, Eighth Master Chang didn’t dally. He summoned a black wind and headed toward the deep mountains.
Normally, using an ancestor’s Shed Skin required informing the current head of the Chang Family. However, Eighth Master Chang knew his status in the family was low, and asking might not work. It was better to act first and apologize later.
Besides, those Shed Skins had been sitting there for so long that no one bothered with them, and they weren’t even guarded. They probably weren’t anything important.
With this mindset, Eighth Master Chang grabbed the oldest Shed Skin he could find and returned to Deaf Granny’s house.
Even Eighth Master Chang didn’t realize that this Shed Skin was far from simple.
It had been left behind thousands of years ago by a Chang Family ancestor when he transformed from a Jiao into a Qiu. In other words, this Shed Skin had moved beyond the realm of snakeskin-it was dragon skin!
Furthermore, to prevent his clansmen from discovering he had taken something, Eighth Master Chang had cleverly left the newborn infant’s placenta behind to take its place…