Chapter 134
Chapter 134
I didn’t take Jin Wuya’s words to heart. After such a bizarre battle, it wouldn’t have been strange for all kinds of rumors to spread outside.
What I never expected was for Master Hui Quan to arrive through the rain early the next morning.
He had even brought back the painting I’d previously sent to the Qingquan Taoist Temple as an offering.
At the time, Liu Junyan was meditating before the altar in the West Room.
This had become his daily routine.
If he hadn’t kept his hair and refrained from striking a Wooden Fish, I might have thought he’d truly become a monk.
Master Hui Quan spent the entire morning talking with Liu Junyan in the West Room. The two got along splendidly, and when Master Hui Quan left, the satisfied expression on his face practically announced that he’d finally met a kindred spirit.
He handed the painting to me and repeated the same thing I’d heard before. “When the Presiding Deity of the Pawnshop returns to its rightful place, girl, simply enshrine this painting in one of the altar niches.”
I took the painting and quickly pressed him for an answer. “Master, all of you keep saying the Presiding Deity will return to its rightful place, but which deity are you talking about?”
Master Hui Quan refused to answer directly. He only said the time was not yet ripe and that when the day came for me to know, I would naturally understand.
After seeing Master Hui Quan off, I took the painting straight to the West Room.
Liu Junyan was still meditating. I casually slid the painting into a suitably sized altar niche and was about to leave when I noticed that Bai Xian’er’s memorial tablet was missing from the corner.
Had it been thrown away?
Surely not.
Bai Xian’er’s memorial tablet had once received offerings from the Pawnshop. Even if it was no longer worshiped here, it couldn’t simply be discarded without consequence.
“Are you looking for Bai Xian’er’s memorial tablet?” Liu Junyan suddenly asked. “It has already been sent back to the Bai Family Medical Hall. Without the protection afforded by the Pawnshop’s worship, she’ll soon become a homeless cur. She’ll be nothing to fear.”
I stared at him in shock. “Why would that happen? Isn’t Bai Xian’er the one in charge of the Bai Family Medical Hall? If she becomes a homeless cur, does that mean the Bai Family Medical Hall is also going to shut down?”
“It will. Or perhaps it won’t.”
Liu Junyan took my hand and led me to the altar. Pointing to the statues in the five altar niches beside the central position, he said, “Wufu Town was named after these five.
“Fox, Weasel, Hedgehog, Snake, and Rat. They are the true Five Animal Immortals, the ancestors of those we see in Wufu Town today, including Bai Xian’er.
“They protected this town — or rather, the people living along this waterway-for hundreds of years, bringing them good fortune. That is why they came to be revered as the Five Blessing Immortals.
“If the Five Blessing Immortals return to their rightful places one day and the Five Immortal Families are restored to their proper order, the reputation of the Bai Family Medical Hall will only rise higher.”
So the Bai Family Medical Hall did not belong to Bai Xian’er. It might decline for a time, but the day would eventually come when it rose again.
“Brother Yan,” I blurted out.
Liu Junyan froze for a moment, then smiled and answered with a questioning, “Mm?”
His voice was low and husky, carrying an inexplicable tenderness.
My cheeks flushed as I asked, “You weren’t planning to tell me any of this before, were you? Why did you suddenly change your mind today? Did Master Hui Quan’s words enlighten you?”
“Master Hui Quan does possess a more enlightened state of mind,” Liu Junyan said. “Something he said struck me deeply. He said a sapling sheltered beneath the shade of a great tree will find it difficult to grow, because while the great tree protects it from the wind and rain, it also blocks the sunlight and dew. But you have always stood beside me.”
Liu Junyan lifted a loose strand of hair from my temple, now mostly black once more, and said, “Xiao Jiu, there will always be wind and rain by my side. No matter how lush my branches grow, there will still come a time when the wind and rain break me. If I fall, I hope you can take my place and grow into an even greater tree, tall enough to touch the sky.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face against his chest. Overcome with emotion, I said, “You won’t fall. And I’ll keep growing stronger until I can stand shoulder to shoulder with you and weather every storm by your side.”
I kept waiting for news from the Bai Family Medical Hall. I had even imagined Bai Xian’er striking back or Bai Jingmo coming to find me.
But neither ever happened.
The Bai Family Medical Hall fell silent once more.
On the night of the fifteenth, Jin Wuya came early to pick up Li Qingying. They were heading to the Ghost Market.
I stayed behind at the Pawnshop to mind the Southern Study.
Li Qingying probably wouldn’t be back until after three in the morning. She told me to close early and get some sleep if no customers showed up. She had a key and could let herself in.
I spent most of the night in the Southern Study, folding one Gold Ingot after another until I had a whole pile. Everything remained perfectly calm.
A little after one in the morning, drowsiness finally got the better of me, so I rose to close up.
I had just slid the bolt into place on the Southern Study’s door when a rapid flurry of footsteps came from the direction of the West Street Entrance.
They were heading straight for the Pawnshop.
My hand stayed on the bolt as I pricked up my ears and held my breath.
A moment later, someone began pounding on the Southern Study’s door. A young woman’s voice called from outside, “Shopkeeper, open up! I have something to pawn.”
She was panting hard, as if someone were chasing her.
I waited for a while, but the pounding didn’t stop.
Only then did I draw back the bolt and pull the door open a crack.
Standing outside was an oddly dressed girl who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen.
She had delicate features and skin so fair it seemed almost translucent. A faint flush stained her cheeks from running.
Yes, she was alive.
I let her in and had her sit in the chair before the counter, telling her to catch her breath before speaking. Then I walked around behind the counter.
The entire time, the girl kept glancing outside. Fear lurked beneath the panic in her eyes.
With every movement she made, the gleaming silver ornaments she wore jingled softly.
Just then, the faint sound of disorderly footsteps drifted over from the West Street Entrance.
But they stopped there, as though whoever it was had paused to watch and wait.
The girl’s face instantly went deathly pale. She clenched her hands tightly, seeming to steel herself for an enormous decision. Then, gritting her teeth, she raised her right hand and forcefully dug her fingers into her own eyes.
It happened so suddenly that I was completely caught off guard.
I instinctively reached out to grab her hand, but I was far too late.
Her movements were quick and practiced. In the next instant, she had gouged out both of her blood-drenched eyeballs. Blood gushed from the empty sockets, and a drop splattered onto my face.
My brain short-circuited.
What in the world was happening?
A beautiful young woman had knocked on my door in the dead of night, only to gouge out both her eyes right in front of me. Who wouldn’t be dumbstruck?
She placed the pair of eyeballs on the counter. Despite being covered in blood, they remained clear and translucent, like an untainted spring untouched by the grime of the mortal world.
The girl trembled violently from the pain. In a quavering voice, she said, “I want to pawn… pawn these Buddha Eyes. A Dead Pawn. The price is one drop of Lamp Oil. I’ll come back in a few days to collect it…”
With that, she turned and bolted, giving me no chance to react.
By the time I chased her outside, her figure had already vanished into the darkness. The West Street Entrance was deserted as well, without so much as a shadow in sight.
I turned back to stare at the pair of eyeballs on the counter, wanting to cry but unable to shed a single tear.
This should have been a Yang Pawn, which meant I could have refused it.
But now, forget refusing — the Pawn Ticket hadn’t even been issued.
This was, without a doubt, the most absurd transaction I’d taken on since reopening the Pawnshop…