Chapter 318: The Eight O'Clock Call

After paying the fare, Blind Liu took me and Mr. Gu back to his small house.

"Have you two been staying here these past few days?" I looked around the old apartment, which was just over sixty square meters. Daoist texts and miscellaneous junk took up forty of them.

Windows were open on the north and south sides to let the air circulate, but a thick scent of Chinese herbal medicine still drifted through the room.

"Where else would we stay, the streets? To think the Liu family was under one, above ten thousand a century ago. Who could have imagined we'd end up in such a state?" Blind Liu removed the black cloth covering his eyes and felt along the wall, searching for something. Seeing this, Mr. Gu hurried over to help.

He poured out the dregs of some boiled-down herbal medicine, wrapped them in a cloth, and gently pressed the poultice over his eyes.

"Old Liu, your eyes..." I suddenly remembered encountering Blind Liu at the Anxin Hotel, when he had been weeping tears of blood and couldn't even open his eyes.

"Don't make a fuss. Lu Xing might have injured my eyes, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Living in true darkness these past few days made me realize how much the sights and sounds of the external world bewilder a Daoist heart. When conditions were ripe, I finally broke through the barrier of the Breath Listening Realm. My Pre-Heaven qi harmonized internally and externally to form its own circulation, and I reached the Heel-Breathing Realm. Moreover, my foundation is solid. It probably won't be long before I break through again."

Blind Liu made it sound easy, but I still felt terrible. "You lost your sight to help me. I owe you such a huge debt of gratitude..."

"Who told you I went blind? I just can't look at bright lights right now. You're a grown man, don't get all sentimental over nothing. You're embarrassing me." Blind Liu pulled over a wooden crate, sat down, and continued applying the medicinal poultice to his eyes.

I shot a glance at Mr. Gu, who smiled wryly and nodded. "The old blind man isn't lying. His eyesight is perfectly fine. Yesterday, I wanted to find a few Daoist texts to read and try combining Gu arts with Daoism, but this guy charged out of the back room wielding a carrying pole. Gave me quite a scare."

"As long as you're okay." Relieved, I studied the two eccentric folk practitioners. Blind Liu was constantly chased around by urban management, but he at least had a place to settle down in Jiangcheng. Mr. Gu, on the other hand, looked every bit the wandering vagabond, his black robe washed until the color had faded.

"Gentlemen, the first reason I came looking for you today is to thank you for lending a hand that day. If you need anything at all, just ask. Whether it's pills, spells, Daoist scriptures, or cash—anything goes." I spoke with utmost sincerity. They had stepped up to help me when I was a citywide wanted fugitive; that was a favor I absolutely had to repay.

Blind Liu wasn't interested in my offer. "You have karmic ties with my Liu family. Helping you is helping myself."

Unlike Blind Liu, Mr. Gu rubbed his hands together and said somewhat sheepishly, "Gao Jian, if possible, I actually do need you to fetch something for me."

"Tell me."

"I need Xiaofeng's tiankui." Mr. Gu immediately waved his hands. "I don't mean anything improper by it. It's just that Gu insects are deeply tied to sinister yin energy, and I possess a male body. If this continues long-term, not only will I be unable to elevate my realm, but my life might even be in danger. That's why I had the thick skin to ask. That girl listens to everything you say, so a mere bit of tiankui shouldn't be a big problem."

Although the item Mr. Gu asked for was a bit awkward to bring up, it wasn't exactly a precious treasure. The problem was that Xiaofeng had been taken away by the fierce ghost attached to her, and her current whereabouts were unknown. Even if I wanted to help him ask for it, I was powerless to do so.

After I explained Xiaofeng's situation, Mr. Gu looked somewhat disappointed.

"The second reason I came today has to do with Xiaofeng. Even though she escaped Lu Xing's clutches, her whereabouts are currently unknown, and she's injured. I'm afraid someone else might hurt her." Xiaofeng was pure-hearted and had a tragic past; I felt mostly sympathy and guilt toward her. "If she intentionally wants to hide, it'll be very hard for me to find her in such a massive city. Therefore, I want to entrust this matter to you, Mr. Gu. The Thousand-Leg Gu should still be following her. Once we find out where she is, getting a bit of tiankui certainly won't be an issue."

Atop the dam, under the sun-reflecting Red Luan, Xiaofeng had burned her fate pattern. I still wasn't entirely clear on what kind of damage burning a fate pattern did to the human body. Right now, I just wanted to find her as quickly as possible.

"Don't worry. I was the one who lost Xiaofeng, and I will definitely get her back for you." Mr. Gu nodded in agreement. Even for the sake of his own Gu cultivation, he had to find her.

"Thank you." I cupped my hands toward Mr. Gu. Finally, I pulled that crumpled raincoat from my jacket and opened it in front of them both. "Old Liu, I have some talismans here. Can you take a look and see what effects they have?"

Blind Liu moved the herbal poultice away from his eyes, glanced over, and instantly found himself unable to look away.

"A matched set of talismans? An array?" Blind Liu laid the set of talismans out on the table. "Dragon scales and dragon patterns are drawn into them, one on the left and one on the right, forming the posture of twin dragons going out to sea. Could this be the Two Dragons Emerging from Water Array? No, the two dragons array is the closely guarded secret of the water-suppressing yin officials in the Jianghu region. How do you have this?"

"Maybe fate just brought it to me. Don't worry about all that. How is this array supposed to be set up?" Ever since witnessing Lu Xing's Seven-Star Labyrinth Array atop the dam, I had become even more curious about the Dao of arrays. Compared to ordinary talismans, the power of an array was vastly greater.

"The Record of Anomalies once noted that when the Two Dragons Emerging from Water Array remains concealed within the formation, since dragons are inherently masculine and unyielding while water is inherently yin, the dragons in the water achieve a harmony of yin and yang, keeping all things at peace. But once they emerge from the water, the twin dragons' might increases tremendously, making them virtually unstoppable." Blind Liu recalled the records regarding this array. "However, this array also has a massive drawback. A dragon is the sovereign of a sea, and they must not meet or merge. The person presiding over the array must have a strong body and high martial prowess to suppress their yang qi from right between the two dragons, preventing them from meeting. This array also has relatively high requirements for the array core and the suppressing object—it absolutely needs an item of extreme yin."

Setting up the array was extremely troublesome. I felt somewhat disappointed after hearing this, as I had originally planned to set up this array around my shop.

Putting away the set of Talisman Papers, I took out that Upper Vehicle Talisman and handed it to Blind Liu. "Old Liu, take another look. What is the use of this talisman?"

"The material is special, and its divine light is restrained. Even though it has been soaked and contaminated by filth, Daoist resonance still flows through it. It should be an Upper Vehicle Talisman created by the mighty hands of a Celestial Master. However, its specific use is hard to say. It doesn't look like a talisman capable of slaying demons and evil spirits, but rather a funeral talisman used on the dead to seal a coffin and immobilize a corpse." Blind Liu narrowed his eyes. After using his eyes for too long, faint tears of blood trickled from the corners again. "The function of this talisman is different from ordinary ones. It cannot prevent or cure illnesses, avoid disaster and draw fortune, or summon gods and expel ghosts. Instead, it makes it impossible for a corpse's soul to return, pinning down sinister corpses and evil fiends for a thousand years. It's commonly seen in grand tombs."

Blind Liu returned the talisman to me. "I don't know the exact method to use this talisman either. I can look it up for you later."

"Thank you." I pocketed the Two Dragons Emerging from Water Array and the Upper Vehicle Talisman I had obtained from the random exchange. Checking the time, I hurried away.

Returning to Ting Tang Road, I unlocked the shop door. Things were thrown all over the floor in a chaotic mess, but I had no time to tidy them up. I plugged my phone in to charge first, then rushed straight up to the second floor.

Pushing the door open, I saw the Lacquered Wooden Coffin sitting untouched in the room. The only somewhat comical part was the two police seals pasted across its lid.

Lifting the coffin lid, a faint scent of blood drifted to my nose. The red mud inside had been disturbed, but it seemed the police hadn't used this as a breakthrough point to investigate me.

"Good thing. This coffin hides two lives." Taking out the Embroidered Cloth Bag, I placed the Black Eyeball onto the red mud. Inside the eyeball, a thin black hair twisted like a spirit snake, as if it possessed a life of its own.

I briefly tidied up the room, set up the Yin Gathering Array on the second floor again, and closed the coffin lid.

"Wait patiently. I will definitely resurrect you."

Heading downstairs, I organized the shop while waiting for the ninth livestream to begin.

The sky had completely darkened. The clock ticked, and at the exact moment the hands swept past the hour, the phone screen emitted a cold light.

"Eight o'clock. Truly punctual." I answered the call and brought the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Mr. Gao, don't be nervous. All Eight Tests have been passed. Congratulations on officially becoming an Underworld Live Show Streamer." The voice of the Paper Doll Interviewer came from the receiver. It was dry and devoid of any human emotion, sounding like a corpse that hadn't fully died yet just after being sent to the morgue.

"I heard those words a long time ago, and you don't need to congratulate me. There's nothing to be happy about here." I was a bit surprised that the caller this time was actually the Underworld Live Show's interviewer. 'Could there have been some unexpected change with the ninth livestream?'