Chapter 27

Chapter 27

My Lifebound Artifact-Fengwu!

I could hardly believe my ears. I actually possessed a Lifebound Artifact!

And it had such a beautiful name.

I looked at Fengwu, then back at Liu Junyan, so happy I didn’t know what to do with myself. “Liu Junyan, does it really belong to me? Could there be some mistake?”

Liu Junyan shook his head. “There is no mistake, Xiao Jiu. A Lifebound Artifact recognizes its master. If it weren’t yours, you wouldn’t be able to summon it.”

As he spoke, he stepped behind me and pulled me into an embrace.

His left hand took hold of mine, extending my palm toward Fengwu. Almost by instinct, I spoke: “Fengwu, come!”

With a sharp whistle, the bow flew through the air and settled firmly into my hand.

Liu Junyan then guided my right hand, leading me to grip the bow with my left and pull the string with my right.

The bow was drawn full, the string taut.

As I released it, a hollow boom echoed through the mountain forest, startling a great flock of birds and beasts into flight.

However, once the sound faded, the bow returned to silence, the fiery aura around it completely extinguished.

I knew it was because the True Qi Liu Junyan had given me had run out.

A mixture of emotions swirled in my heart-joy that I had obtained a Lifebound Artifact, yet regret that I lacked the power to truly control it.

But I wasn’t ready to give up. “Liu Junyan, since I have a Lifebound Artifact, that means I used to be able to cultivate, right?”

“Yes,” Liu Junyan said. “Not only could you cultivate, but your cultivation level was quite high. At your peak, Fengwu even achieved human form.”

My eyes widened instantly. “Fengwu can take human form? Was it a boy or a girl?”

“A girl,” Liu Junyan replied. “But I don’t know what you encountered in the past. Right now, your body… is missing something. However, now that you have Fengwu, if you bond with it properly and continue running the Pawnshop-accumulating Merit through good deeds-you will return to your peak sooner or later.”

I asked, “What is my body missing?”

I had spent years in school and successfully gotten into university. I’d had physical exams before and never found anything wrong with my health.

Liu Junyan thought for a moment, his tone grave and earnest. “Xiao Jiu, the time isn’t right yet. Even if I could describe it, you might not be able to accept it. That is your past; it’s gone. For now, let’s just focus on living well in the present, alright?”

“Alright.”

I agreed without hesitation because I knew Liu Junyan would never harm me.

For the rest of the time, Liu Junyan stayed by my side, helping me practice drawing the bow.

Without the boost from his True Qi, I found it difficult even to hold the bow, let alone draw the string to its full extent.

Liu Junyan said my arm and wrist strength were insufficient and my center of gravity was unstable, noting that this would require long-term practice.

He constantly corrected my posture. He wasn’t exactly harsh, but he was so serious that I felt if he were a teacher, he would certainly be a strict one.

Time always passed so quickly when I was with Liu Junyan.

As the sun began to dip toward the west, he led me out of the village to begin our return journey.

As we passed the Qilin Temple, I inadvertently glanced inside.

That single look made me feel as if I had fallen into an ice cellar.

Inside the Qilin Temple, in front of the Qilin Statue, a thick mass of black energy had gathered, forming a tall, humanoid shape.

Behind its back, there was even the silhouette of a pair of massive wings!

In the blink of an eye, the black mist vanished.

I closed my eyes and looked again, but everything had returned to normal.

I even began to doubt if my eyes had played tricks on me.

Regardless, the Qilin Temple gave me a very bad feeling. Even after we had walked a great distance away, I felt as though eyes were boring into my back.

As Liu Junyan and I walked toward the village entrance, my grandmother watched us from afar.

Of course, she wasn’t sad to see me go. She was afraid that a ‘debt collector’ like me would stay and bring more harm to her little grandson and granddaughter.

Sometimes it felt quite bitter to think about. Clearly, my birth had once been anticipated too.

If there was anyone to blame, it was fate.

It was after nine in the evening by the time we returned to the Pawnshop. Li Qingying was sitting on the threshold, waiting anxiously. When she saw the car pull up, she immediately rushed over.

Her eyes first scanned Liu Junyan from head to toe, and only after confirming he was temporarily unharmed did she look at me. She asked if I was hungry, saying she had kept dinner warm on the stove.
Liu Junyan stayed with me for dinner, then said he had to return to the Black Coffin.

I had assumed when he said a whole day, he meant twenty-four hours. Who would have thought it was only twelve?

Liu Junyan walked ahead, and I followed silently behind him.

I walked with him all the way to the entrance of the Main Hall.

He suddenly turned around, pulled me into his arms, and kissed the top of my head. “Xiao Jiu,” he whispered, “walk forward boldly. Believe in yourself and do not be afraid. Remember, I will always be there to support you.”

My eyes immediately grew wet with tears I couldn’t hold back.

I threw my arms around his waist and sobbed.

Liu Junyan let me hold him like that for a long while before he took me by the shoulders to create some distance. He reached out to wipe the moisture from the corners of my eyes and said, “Trust me, it won’t be long. We both have to work hard.”

I nodded vigorously. “Mhm, I’ll work hard.”

I would practice drawing my bow relentlessly, manage the Pawnshop well, and accumulate Merit.

I believed that one day, I would be able to stand by Liu Junyan’s side with a status that truly matched his!

Liu Junyan returned to the Black Coffin.

Nothing more was said that night.

Early the next morning, when Li Qingying got up to practice with her whip, I got up as well.

She looked at me standing in the front courtyard, quite surprised. “Xiao Jiu, why are you up so early?”

I was already forming hand seals. “I’m here to practice too.”

Dammit. I formed the seals three times in a row and still hadn’t summoned the bow. I started to get a bit anxious.

Li Qingying stood to the side, watching me curiously.

I slowed down, took three deep breaths to get into the right state of mind, and formed the seals a fourth time.

As I chanted, “Fengwu, come forth!” the bow finally appeared in my hand.

Li Qingying was stunned on the spot.

It took her a good while to snap out of it. She walked over and stared at the bow in my hand, clearly fascinated. “Xiao Jiu, is this the artifact Seventh Master took you out to find yesterday?”

“Mhm, it’s my Lifebound Artifact,” I introduced it with immense pride. “Her name is Fengwu.”

Li Qingying’s eyes were full of envy. She murmured, “No wonder Seventh Master took such a huge risk to take you out. It was to help you get your Lifebound Artifact back.”

She then fixed her gaze on me and emphasized once more, “Xiao Jiu, Seventh Master has treated you well. You must never betray him in this life. Otherwise, I really will kill you with my own hands!”

I raised my hand and swore, “I never will!”

Li Qingying and I each took a corner of the front courtyard. She swung her whip, and I drew my bow.

After a while, Li Qingying couldn’t take it anymore and ran over to correct my form. “Your wrist strength is insufficient, and your whole body lacks power. It’s impossible to reach the top in a single bound. You must focus on practicing your basics first.”

That day, Li Qingying made me hold a horse stance against the courtyard wall for an hour.

By the time I finally finished, I felt like my legs didn’t belong to me anymore.

Back in my room, I lay on the bed to rest for a bit. Suddenly, I remembered the box I had brought back from the Opera Stage. I sat up with a start and pulled the box out.

Opening the lid and pulling back the length of Water Sleeves, I took out that tattered booklet again. I sat cross-legged on the bed and read it carefully from beginning to end.

The booklet was too severely damaged. After piecing things together for half the day, I finally managed to clarify a few key events.

The person who wrote this Town Chronicle was a man named Dong Pian. In the early years of the Republic of China, he was an important official responsible for compiling the Wufu Town Chronicle.

Later, when wars broke out one after another, he lost his job, but he still maintained the habit of recording important events in Wufu Town.

Winter, 1916: War broke out in Wufu Town. Chen Ping raised an army to suppress the unrest and declared himself Commander.

…

Spring, 1920: Chen Ping led his troops to war.

July, 1920: News arrived from outside that Chen Ping had been defeated.

Mid-July, 1920: Chen Ping turned defeat into victory and was set to return soon.

July 15th (The Ghost Festival), 1920: I encountered Zhao Zixun in an alley. There was a Coffin Nail driven into his brow…

This was the last page of the Town Chronicle. It was covered in bloodstains, and the bottom half was destroyed. It had been too dark that night, so I had only seen up to this point.

Now, looking at it again in the sunlight, I discovered that the purplish-black bloodstains covered a line of text: Zhao Zixun held a blood-dripping Lingchi Blade in his hand…