The young Daoist acolyte let out an "oh" and said, "So you mean Fellow Daoist Zhuge. He did hold a ritual ceremony here yesterday, but he left not long after it got dark last night." "Left? That's absolutely impossible. I've been here the whole time—how could I not have seen him?" I asked, puzzled. "He left through the back door. It's a bit closer," the acolyte said with a smile. I cursed Zhuge Wu inwardly, that bastard had screwed me over again. I said a quick thanks, strode to the middle of the road, hailed a taxi, and told the driver to take me to Qianhunlu. It was already daylight now, and Qianhunlu had a fearsome reputation, so the driver still didn't dare go in. I asked him to drop me at the entrance and quickly ran inside myself.
"Bang!" I kicked the door open. That bastard Zhuge Wu was actually having breakfast, humming a tune, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. Beside him sat a woman dressed seductively with an alluring posture, and Zhuge Wu's hand was currently kneading her waist. When he saw me, he grinned and said, "Yo, nephew, why are you only coming back now? Had breakfast yet?" "I'll have your damn breakfast!" I instantly understood what was going on. This bastard had arranged to meet a woman, and afraid I'd disturb him, he'd found an excuse to ditch me outside. I grabbed a chair by the door and charged at Zhuge Wu. He quickly stood up and rushed toward me, dodging nimbly before snatching the chair from my hands, saying, "Calm down, calm down. I haven't touched a woman in days." "Daoist, who's this kid? How dare he raise a hand against you?" the seductive woman said in a soft, delicate voice. Zhuge Wu said, "He's my nephew. Lulu, you should head back first. We'll meet again next time." "Alright. Daoist, if you have time, do come and 'bless' my body more often." The woman named Lulu stood up, swaying her hips as she walked out. Zhuge Wu quickly shut the door, grinned, and said, "Everyone has their desires, nephew. Don't hold it against me." "Do you ever do anything useful, damn it? Where's my jade ring?" I roared. I'm sure no one would tolerate this kind of thing. Zhuge Wu pulled my jade ring from his pocket, but his eyes were peering through the crack in the door, and he made a shushing gesture. I snatched the ring and clutched it tightly in my hand, saying to it, "Zhao Yixian, are you there? Are you feeling any better?" The jade ring gave no response. I put it around my neck, carefully tucking it inside my clothes. Before I could say anything, Zhuge Wu walked over to me and said, "I did the ritual. It won't take effect right away—there's a three-day absorption period. I have some business to attend to now, so you stay home. Tomorrow night, I'll take you to the Yangshidi to find the Yinshazhu." His words made me swallow my anger. Going to Yangshidi tomorrow—maybe I could find the Yinshazhu, and then Zhao Yixian could be saved. "Wait. Tell me—what exactly are 'Xuanzhe' and 'Xuanmen'?" I asked quickly.
Zhuge Wu was taken aback for a moment, but this time he didn't rush. He sat down on the sofa and began to fluently explain to me the matters of the "Xuanzhe" and "Xuanmen." "As early as the Zhou Dynasty, Buddhist culture gradually spread into the Central Plains. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), influenced by the impact of Buddhist culture, Confucianism and Taoism, represented by Confucius and Laozi, began to take root. Across the vast land of China, a traditional Chinese culture with Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism as its three main pillars took shape. Confucian thought has had a profound influence on Chinese culture. Throughout thousands of years of feudal society, the Four Books and Five Classics passed down from generation to generation, and the sense of responsibility, loyalty and filial piety, forgiveness, and ethics embedded in the genes of the Chinese people are all results of the combination of Confucianism and autocratic rule. Therefore, Confucianism remains the mainstream ideology of the Chinese people to this day. Buddhism and Taoism, however, took a different path, with countless practitioners and cultivators among them. These two schools deviated from the norm, devoted themselves to cultivation, and pursued the attainment of 'immortality,' giving rise to countless extraordinary individuals. These people possessed skills far beyond the reach of ordinary men, and they were collectively known as 'Xuanzhe.' As Buddhism and Taoism developed to this day, the sects derived from them are too numerous to count. Xuanzhe have long since ceased to distinguish between Buddhist and Taoist, and are collectively referred to as 'members of Xuanmen.' The so-called Xuanmen—mysterious beyond mystery, the gate of all wonders, the ancestor of nature—is the great origin of all things." Zhuge Wu recited all this in one breath like he was reading from a script, and I listened in a daze, though I roughly understood what it was about. After hearing Zhuge Wu's explanation, I asked in confusion, "You said Xuanzhe don't distinguish between Buddhism and Taoism, so why are Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries still separate systems?" Zhuge Wu chuckled and said, "Do you know about the Mofa Shidai?" "Mofa Shidai?" "Forget it, that's a long story. I'm in a hurry right now—I'll explain it to you when I get back." Without waiting for me to say anything, Zhuge Wu grabbed the cloth bag on the table and headed out. "Clink." A short whip fell out, and I immediately noticed the letters "SM" written on it. Zhuge Wu quickly picked up the whip, stuffed it back into the cloth bag, and said with a sly grin, "Heh heh, this is a Fabian—a whip for catching ghosts. There's breakfast on the table; you go ahead and eat. I'll be back after dark." After saying that, he ran out as if I were about to chase him down. I clenched my fist, thinking I couldn't stay with this bastard any longer. After hastily eating breakfast, I went to the room on the second floor with the computer. Since I had nothing else to do, I planned to look up information about "City No. 1 High School" in the morning. Earlier, Zhuge Wu had said that if I got assigned to Class 4 of City No. 1 High School, he'd tell me to drop out. All I knew was that City No. 1 High School was the best high school in the city—nothing else. Zhuge Wu's computer wasn't turned off; a QQ was logged in, and there were three chat windows open. After confirming that the live-streaming software for the "Lieguiren Lianmeng" wasn't open, I moved the mouse and prepared to close those chat windows.
The avatar in the first chat window looked familiar—it was that seductive woman from earlier. The chat history was laid bare before me, and I couldn't help but glance at it, taking in the contents. Woman: "Master, I've been having bad luck lately, and I keep having nightmares. Have I run into something unclean?" "Yes, you're definitely haunted by a ghost, sister. At this rate, you'll die a miserable death within seven days." "Can the master help me? (scared emoji)" "Of course. I'm a Daoist priest, the bane of ghosts. The most direct way is to share some of my yang energy with you." "Master, how do I do that?" "Have you heard of Daohezhi Shu?" "No, I haven't. What do I need to do?" "Dao means the Daoist, which is me. He means union, as in the union of bodies. You get it, right?" "(blushing emoji) I understand. Will it really work?" "(aloof emoji) It's not just effective—it can change your luck for the better. You were referred by an acquaintance, so you should know I don't cheat people. You know my address, right?" "Okay, master, wait for me." "Alright, call me when you reach the intersection, and I'll come pick you up." That was the end of it. I cursed the bastard under my breath and closed that window. The second chat window appeared before me. The avatar was also a woman with a nice face and figure, though she was younger. Her screen name was 'Moli Huakai.' There had been a lot of nonsense in the past—Zhuge Wu never said anything serious—but this morning's conversation was only a few lines. Zhuge: "So, are we meeting or not?" Mo: "No." Zhuge: "Seriously, are we meeting or not!" Mo: "Fine!" Zhuge: "Baby, I'll come over to you in a bit (lewd emoji)." I cursed him as an animal again and closed that window, revealing the third one. I was about to close it outright, but when I saw the screen name, I froze on the spot—because this person's screen name was Zhao Yixian!!! I quickly clicked on the avatar, and my heart jolted. The person with the screen name Zhao Yixian had a profile photo identical to Zhao Yixian herself. But the background was a hotel room, with a luxurious double bed draped in blue curtains behind her. Zhao Yixian was wearing a tight blue dress, blending into the background like a chameleon. I couldn't stop trembling. Had Zhao Yixian come back to life in physical form? Wasn't she inside my jade ring? If this person wasn't Zhao Yixian, then who could it be? How could anyone in the world look so alike? And have the same name? I checked Zhuge Wu's friend request—it was sent around nine last night, which matched the timeline perfectly. I knew Zhuge Wu's character all too well. I gasped for air, my mind in a complete mess, and let my gaze drift down to the unsavory chat history between Zhao Yixian and Zhuge Wu.