Chapter 41: The Purpose of Raising a Son

The Celestial Master Hall held two registration periods every year: one at the beginning of the year and one in early June. Because at the start of each year disciples from various sects would also come to register and take part in the rank evaluations — making it lively and bustling — most people chose to register then.

Yun Jiao suddenly felt she had found a way to fill her wallet. Wasn’t this just getting a license? For her, that was no difficulty at all. Moreover, Old Zhou said that as long as one reached the level of a Five-Qian Celestial Master, they would receive a special monthly stipend with decent benefits.

The key problem was the old man’s current strength — it seemed rather challenging. It looked like she’d need to push him to study harder so that they could earn money legally and properly. Counting the time, there were less than five months left before the New Year. She didn’t know if the Celestial Master Hall’s exam would be harder than the college entrance exams. To be safe, she should probably write several more textbooks for the old man to study. Yun Jiao clenched her fist and silently made up her mind.

Sitting beside her, Bai Yu — who was quietly shoveling rice into his mouth — suddenly shuddered for no reason. Was the weather about to change? Why did he suddenly feel a chill run down his spine?

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Yun Jiao hurried back to write her new textbooks. She had originally planned to return to the temple early in the morning. But just as she stepped out the door, she saw someone standing outside Old Zhou’s house — and it was someone familiar. It was none other than Shao Xian, who had still been lying in bed just yesterday.

Yun Jiao exchanged a glance with Bai Yu, and at the same moment, they both thought of that bowl of ginseng soup that someone had snatched away yesterday. Instinctively, they both clutched their wallets and stepped back. Was this guy here to ask for a refund now that he’d figured things out?

“Two immortal masters.” Shao Xian’s eyes lit up when he saw them, and he quickly stepped forward, cupping his hands respectfully. “I thought about it all night, and I have an unreasonable request. I beg the two immortal masters to grant it.”

“What do you want?” Bai Yu asked.

Shao Xian steadied his expression, took a deep breath, and said, “I heard the Celestial Master Hall possesses the Eternal Peace Lantern. If a highly skilled cultivator is willing, they can light this lantern for the dead. Its light comforts wandering souls and can lessen the suffering they endure in the underworld.”

“Eternal Peace Lantern?” Bai Yu blinked, then turned to Old Zhou behind him. “Old Zhou, have you heard of this?”

“There is indeed such a thing.” Old Zhou nodded. “It’s said that whoever lights the Eternal Peace Lantern can connect the realms of yin and yang. The souls protected by its light can safely cross the River of Forgetfulness and reach the underworld. But only Celestial Masters of the Profound Rank or higher can do it.”

Shao Xian’s eyes lit up as he looked straight at Yun Jiao and said anxiously, “Immortal Master Yun, your cultivation is profound. You were able to break the Hundred Ghost Formation. You must be able to light the lantern. Please, I beg you to fulfill this.”

Yun Jiao narrowed her eyes and swept him with a cold glance before saying in a low voice, “You want to light the lantern for Lord Shao?”

Shao Xian froze for a moment, his face paling. After a long pause, he said with some shame, “I… I know he committed grave sins. But after all, he was my father. I… just want to do what a son should do in the end.”

His voice grew lower and softer, even tinged with pleading. Lord Shao’s death was well-deserved — it was his retribution. But while anyone else could say so, Shao Xian couldn’t.

“Immortal master, please… I…”

“No!” Yun Jiao cut him off before he could finish. “Yes, he was your father. But he was not my father. He was not the father of those disciples trapped that day, nor of the many unjust souls imprisoned in that formation for decades. Whether this lantern works or not, and whether I can do it or not, why do you think your father–son bond must outweigh the victims’ right to justice?”

“…” Shao Xian was stunned, at a loss for words.

“Your father’s death was entirely of his own making, no one else’s fault. Even if he must suffer in the underworld, that’s the price of his own choices!” Yun Jiao continued coldly. “Since he chose that path, he must bear the consequences.”

“But… but other than this… I don’t know what else I can do. He’s still my father…”

“Are you sure?” Yun Jiao suddenly asked.

Shao Xian froze, looking at her with confusion. “Immortal master, what… do you mean?”

“How long has your father maintained that formation?”

Although he didn’t understand why she asked, he still answered honestly: “It seems… more than forty years. I only learned of it recently.”

A few months ago, when his illness suddenly worsened, his father invited some people from the mystic world to their house to exorcise evil. He accidentally discovered his father’s secret setup, so he tried to free those people while his father was distracted. Ever since, his father forced him to guard the cave every night, to pacify the increasingly violent resentful spirits.

But in the end… he still couldn’t save them.

“Forty years! You’re saying this formation existed before you were even born? That’s impossible!” Bai Yu suddenly realized something and jumped in shock. “What year were you born? What’s your birth chart?”

Shao Xian thought for a moment, then directly recited his date and hour of birth.

“Old Zhou, quick, calculate!” Bai Yu urged.

Old Zhou immediately started divining with his fingers, then took out a few copper coins to cast. After a while, his eyes flew open in shock. “This… this is a Ten-Break Fate — the destiny of great nobility!” He looked utterly incredulous. In all his years of fortune-telling, he had never seen such a fate.

The so-called Ten-Break Fate referred to someone who, in previous lives, had accumulated immense virtue or was reborn carrying great merit. Heaven itself protected this destiny — a person with extraordinary fortune who, so long as they did not commit evil, would live a life of honor and prosperity.

“No wonder… you could endure the Curse of Gathered Resentment for more than twenty years.” Ordinary people exposed to that curse would die within two or three years as their life force was consumed. He had lasted so long because his great fortune countered the accumulated resentful energy.

“But it doesn’t make sense. With such a fate, why would you be born into the Shao family?” Old Zhou frowned after recalculating. Normally, someone with this destiny would be born into royalty or an illustrious noble house — yet the Shaos were merely merchants.

Shao Xian looked blankly at Bai Yu. “Dare I ask, immortal master… what is the Curse of Gathered Resentment?”

“You’ve had it on you since childhood,” Bai Yu answered honestly. “This curse attracts the resentment of nearby evil spirits. Your illness comes from it. If this girl hadn’t pinned your soul with her needles, the moment Lord Shao died you wouldn’t have survived. Even with your extraordinary fate, it’s already drained you nearly dry.”

“Cursed since childhood…” Shao Xian seemed to grasp something, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.

“Could it be that Lord Shao raised you as a vessel to absorb all that resentment?” Old Zhou suddenly realized aloud. “But… you’re supposed to be his son. The curse would drag down the Shao family’s fortune too. Unless…” Unless he was never truly his biological son.

(End of chapter)