Chapter 22

Chapter 22

This woman actually had bound feet!

If I remembered correctly, the barbaric practice of foot-binding was abolished as early as 1912. That meant this woman’s birth must date back to before the Republican era.

Therefore, the person who had subjected her to the ‘death by a thousand cuts’ certainly wasn’t the Town Head or his son.

The woman suddenly turned around and walked out, clutching her knife. It was as if she were being summoned; her time outside was limited.

Last night, Li Qingying had also mentioned that she was being sucked back to the Town Head’s Residence by an invisible force.

Seeing her about to leave before the deal was finished and without having answered any of my questions, I started to panic. Even Li Qingying couldn’t stop her.

In my desperation, a thought suddenly struck me. I blurted out, “Wait, do you know Zhao Zixun?”

Zhao Zixun was also someone from the Republican era.

But before the woman could answer, her figure flickered violently. In the next heartbeat, she vanished from the entrance of the Pawnshop.

Li Qingying looked back at me. “She was sucked back.”

We stared at each other, both feeling a strange sense of loss.

***

The rest of the night passed without incident.

The next day, I took on a job. It wasn’t business for the Pawnshop, but rather the paper-crafting business for the Funeral Supplies Shop.

An elderly person had passed away in a village north of town, and the family had ordered several paper offerings from me. I packed them up early in the morning and set off on my electric tricycle to deliver them.

Granny used to do this often when she was alive; these were all old regular customers.

Li Qingying didn’t feel comfortable letting me go alone and insisted on coming along.

The electric tricycle was small to begin with, and it was packed to the brim with paper figures, paper horses, and even a paper villa. Li Qingying and I squeezed into the front seat. As we left the town and headed for the village, the road became so bumpy that we nearly tipped over into the rice paddies, tricycle and all.

Fortunately, we made it without any real trouble.

Once we reached the client’s home, they helped unload the paper offerings. As I stood at the door to settle the payment, I felt a burning gaze fixed on me.

Turning my head toward the source, I saw an Old Daoist wearing a Taoist robe and cap. He had a small goatee, held a horsetail whisk in his hand, and was looking at me thoughtfully.

His appearance… was the very image of a charlatan.

I looked away and got back on the tricycle. Before I could start the engine, the Old Daoist stepped forward and blocked my path.

Li Qingying immediately went on high alert.

The Old Daoist stroked his goatee, staring intently at the space between my eyebrows. “Young lady,” he said, “I see a dark cloud over your brow. Have you been haunted by Dirty Things these past few days?”

Li Qingying rolled her eyes. “You’re the only ‘dirty thing’ I see. Move it!”

The Old Daoist wasn’t offended. He looked at Li Qingying and said, “A broken-horned red carp finds it hard to leap through the Dragon Gate. What a pity.”

Both Li Qingying and I froze.

Back when I first went to find Li Qingying, Liu Junyan had told me to ask if she had any ‘broken-horned red carp’ for sale. After finding her, I hadn’t thought much of it; I only knew she was someone Liu Junyan told me I could trust completely.

Thinking about it now, could Li Qingying’s true form actually be a broken-horned red carp?

Who was this Old Daoist? How could he see so much with a single glance?

Li Qingying opened her mouth but found herself speechless, her aggressive aura visibly weakening.

The Old Daoist turned his attention back to me. “This humble Daoist’s dharma name is Hui Quan. I am the Temple Master of the Qingquan Taoist Temple on Qingquan Mountain. Our meeting here is a stroke of fate. If you ever have need of me, Young Friend, you may come find me at the temple.”

As he spoke, he actually pulled a business card out of his pocket and handed it over.

He certainly kept up with the times.

Out of politeness, I reached out to take it. But the moment I pinched the corner of the card, Hui Quan grabbed my hand and flipped it over, forcing my palm open for him to see.

Startled, I let out a sharp cry of alarm.
Li Qingying reached out to smack the Old Daoist, but he dodged with a quick sidestep. He still hadn’t let go of my hand, clicking his tongue repeatedly. “Strange, truly strange!”

I gave Li Qingying a reassuring look, then turned to him and asked, “What’s so strange?”

Hui Quan frowned and said, “Just now, when I observed your face from a distance, I saw a cloud of black energy lingering between your brows, as if you were being haunted by some Dirty Things. However, beneath that layer of black energy, there are two faint glows-one red and one gold. This is a sign of a Pure Yang Body. Furthermore, your fate suggests you should be accompanied by a benefactor.”

At this point, Hui Quan paused, seemingly unwilling to give up. His fingers traced the lines of my right palm back and forth. After a long while, he said, “That shouldn’t be right. I couldn’t have misread it. You should have a Pure Yang Body, so why do the lines on your palm look like those of a Pure Yin Body?”

A Pure Yin Body?

That was it.

Had the Town Head not said that Wufu Town had to Sacrifice a Pure Yin Body every thirty years to suppress the Curse?

That was exactly why I had been targeted.

But why did the Old Daoist say I had a Pure Yang Body?

Could a person possess both a Pure Yang and a Pure Yin fate at the same time?

While I was lost in thought, the Old Daoist finally released my hand. Still persistent, he said, “Miss, if you don’t mind, could you tell me your Birth Date and Time? I can help calculate it for you…”

“No.”

I refused without hesitation before he could even finish.

I was not joking. If he were just an ordinary person, I might not have been so guarded.

But he had seen through Li Qingying at a single glance. A man like this clearly possessed some level of cultivation.

If he had any ill intentions, he could torment me until I was half-dead with just my Birth Date and Time.

I was curious about my fate, but curiosity killed the cat.

I started the tricycle, and Li Qingying hopped on. The vehicle carried us away, leaving a trail of dust behind.

On the way back, I was clearly distracted while driving. My mind kept dwelling on the Old Daoist’s words. I turned and asked, “Sister Qingying, that Old Daoist said I was being haunted by something. Do you think he was talking about that woman from the past two nights?”

Li Qingying helped me steady the handlebars as she replied, “Possibly.”

“Thinking back, the timing of that woman’s appearance was indeed a bit subtle,” I speculated carefully. “She suddenly appeared at the door of the Pawnshop, yet her movements in and out weren’t under her own control. That means she’s under some kind of restriction from the Town Head’s Residence.

“The Town Head’s family worships the Yellow Immortal, so whatever is suppressing her is likely related to it.

“And that day I went to the Town Head’s Residence, I was almost nailed into that Red Coffin in the Attic…”

“Right, the Red Coffin!”

I clapped my hands in excitement, completely forgetting that I was driving.

Li Qingying grabbed the handlebars with both hands and teased, “My little lady, please pay attention!”

I scratched my head sheepishly. After handing full control of the handlebars to Li Qingying, I continued, “Sister Qingying, I remember now. That day at the Town Head’s Residence, Huang Jiabao almost drove a Coffin Nail into the space between my eyebrows. I dodged, but my brow was still cut, and I bled into the Red Coffin.”

Li Qingying understood instantly. “You mean the blood from your brow opened a gap in that woman’s seal, giving her the chance to haunt you?”

I nodded vigorously. “Yes. And to take the guess even further, there should be some kind of connection between that woman and that Red Coffin.”

That Red Coffin was too red, as if it were soaked in blood.

When I was lying inside it, I felt like something was off.

But the situation was too critical then; all my focus was on the Town Head and the others, so I overlooked the coffin itself for a moment.

Thinking back carefully now, I realized the interior of that Red Coffin wasn’t hard wood. Instead, it felt like… like it was lined with a layer of skin…