Volume Two: Eventful Times, Full of Twists and Turns Chapter One Hundred and Fifty: Crisp and Decisive, Faces from the Past

Upon arriving at Thunder Hall, Yang Shiqian happened to be out. Yang Chengzi waited inside for a little while until he saw Yang Shiqian return from outside, holding a package in his hand.

Seeing Yang Chengzi, Yang Shiqian greeted him, "Ah, Daoist Yang, carrying all these bags and boxes, are you here to propose marriage?"

Yang Chengzi was taken aback. Looking at the pastries in his hand and the flute in its exquisite box, he also burst into laughter.

"Hehe, Brother Yang, you jest. I have come to ask for your help with something. You weren't here, so I waited for a while."

Yang Shiqian frowned and looked Yang Chengzi up and down. "What could you possibly need my help with? What, is that friend of yours acting effeminate again? Just chop him up directly, I have no other solutions for that."

"It's not him, it's not him. It's this thing."

Yang Chengzi immediately opened the box, and the moment the flute appeared, Yang Shiqian's expression froze.

"Where did you get this thing?"

"Master Yuan from the Yuan residence bought it from an antique and calligraphy shop. I didn't know how to handle it, and figuring that you, brother, are knowledgeable and well-traveled, you might know what it is, so I came to you."

"Oh~ So that's it. How do you intend to deal with it? This trinket clearly cannot be kept."

"That was my thought as well, but I was afraid of making a mistake."

"This thing should be a malevolent artifact crafted by an evil sorcerer. There might be a fierce ghost or a powerful demon trapped inside. Smashing it directly might cause major trouble."

Yang Shiqian picked up the 'flute' in his hand and played with it, thoroughly feeling it all over.

"Hmm~ Good eye. This thing is indeed a malevolent artifact. Leaving it to me to handle is the right choice."

"Ah... Brother, you know how to destroy this thing?"

"Of course, what's so difficult about that?" Right after speaking, he grabbed it with both hands, braced it against his knee, and with a sharp *snap*, broke it in half.

Yang Chengzi was dumbfounded. This old man did things in such a straightforward and clear-cut manner, but it wasn't at all what he had imagined. The expected fierce ghost or powerful demon did not appear; the ghostly aura merely dissipated as the malevolent artifact shattered. He swallowed hard as he looked at the ruined artifact broken in two in Yang Shiqian's hands.

Seeing Yang Chengzi's incredulous expression, Yang Shiqian smiled and said, "Ah, look at your inexperienced look. This is Thunder Hall! Experts from the Heaven-Opening Sect are lurking all around, and they are exceptionally skilled at subduing demons and eradicating evil. Furthermore, the underground is protected by barrier formations. Unless it's some world-destroying ghostly entity, it can't stir up any trouble here. Why else do you think I dared to snap it?"

"Is that so? Are there really that many experts here?"

"Why would I lie to you? They are immensely powerful. Normally responsible for the security within the hall—whether it's ghostly entities or assassins from other sects—with them around, we can sleep soundly. Every single one of them is a top-tier expert. Dealing with some major demon only takes one or two of them."

Yang Shiqian had mentioned this before, but Yang Chengzi hadn't sensed anyone lurking around at all and had assumed he was just spouting nonsense. Now, however, it didn't seem like nonsense at all; this absolute confidence was undoubtedly backed by those very people.

Come to think of it, in such a large Thunder Hall, aside from the servants serving tea and water and Yang Shiqian, not a single ghostly shadow could be seen. They were either all out or hiding. Having been here several times already, how could they possibly all be out every time?

"Oh, right, I've been meaning to ask you—do you know where Mount Puxian is?"

"Mount Puxian?"

"Yes, Mount Puxian. There is a Chan Master named Du'e in the monastery there, and we have an urgent matter to see him about."

"Never heard anyone mention it."

"Alas, we've searched all the way here, knowing only the general direction, but we have no idea where it actually is."

"Why on earth must you go to a Buddhist monastery? And why specifically that Chan Master?"

"This is a long story..."

Yang Chengzi recounted the affair concerning Chen San to Yang Shiqian.

Yang Shiqian looked at Yang Chengzi with an incredulous expression and said, "From now on, don't stand on ceremony with me; I should call *you* brother. To be able to seal a powerful demon into a human body, you are truly the first."

"Ah, brother, do not mock me. At the time, there was truly no other way, and since Mount Mao possesses this technique, using it like this shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Whether there's a problem with the technique, I don't know, but you lot are in big trouble right now. You need to go find that Chan Master Du'e immediately."

"Indeed, but we don't know the location. I just went to the magistrate's office to post a reward of one hundred and fifty taels. This town is bustling with people coming and going, yet we couldn't get any information here. Wouldn't it be even harder to inquire in other desolate mountains and wilderness?"

"That's true as well. Don't worry; perhaps one day someone will claim the bounty and come looking for you."

"I certainly hope so."

"Sigh~ What have you been up to these past two days? You look half-asleep, and your complexion is much worse than before."

"Wasn't I dealing with that demon for the magistrate's office? I couldn't sleep well to begin with, and then it left me with no time to sleep at all."

"Couldn't sleep well to begin with? Is looking for Mount Puxian enough to ruin your sleep?"

This isn't about Mount Puxian; I have only myself to blame for meddling in other people's business."

"Ah, there's a story here. Tell me about it; perhaps I can even help you out."

"A few days ago, someone asked me to read their fortune, saying their luck was poor and their business had plummeted. I couldn't spot anything amiss, so I figured perhaps there was a problem with their ancestral graves and had them take me there. On the way back, because the graves needed to be relocated, I told them to return first while I checked other areas for a suitable site. Who would have guessed that while looking around, I ran into trouble."

"What kind of trouble? A corpse springing back to life?"

"Even worse than a corpse springing back to life. I was passing by a dilapidated temple when I saw an injured woman hurriedly hide inside, followed closely by two men in hot pursuit. Thinking to myself that two men chasing a woman could hardly bode well, I casually pointed them in a wrong direction and sent them packing."

"Ah, playing the hero saving the damsel in distress. Did your wife get jealous?"

"Wife?" Yang Chengzi looked at Yang Shiqian in astonishment. "You knew they were disguised as men?"

"Aish~ You underestimate your brother here. The disguise was decent enough to fool people on the street, but anyone with a discerning eye could tell at a glance."

"Jealousy aside, after I rescued that woman and brought her back, she actually took a fancy to me—and then tried to kill me."

"Tried to kill you? You rescued an ungrateful wretch, didn't you, little brother? You really are a naive little brother! But having said that, if she wanted to kill you, she wanted to kill you. The two of you are grown men; are you really afraid of a frail young woman? Honestly."

Yang Chengzi wore a bitter expression. "If she really were a frail young woman, I wouldn't be worried. The problem is her formidable martial arts skills!"

"What? Formidable martial arts?"

"Yes, formidable martial arts. I only discovered it when she left. She was unconscious when I carried her back, so I assumed she was just an ordinary woman. Who would have thought that as she left, I carefully observed her footwork and movement? Her martial arts are probably not below mine." Yang Chengzi shook his head helplessly.

"Nonsense. Although there are many people coming and going in this place, women who practice martial arts are truly rare. I can count on one hand the formidable ones in my mind. Tell me her name; if she's from around here, I certainly know her. If it's just some superficial show, aren't you just scaring yourselves?"

"Her name seems to be Meng Wuyan."

"What? Meng..."

Yang Shiqian looked left and right, then lowered his head and asked, "What did she say to you two when she left?"

"She said she was going to kill the young woman accompanying me."

"Kill..."

Yang Shiqian's eyes flickered, momentarily unsure how to respond to Yang Chengzi. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't be familiar with them, but he knew Meng Wuyan all too well. Having killed so many people back then and framed Thunder Hall...

Seeing the strange look in his eyes, Yang Chengzi asked, "Do you really know her?"

"Let brother offer you a piece of advice: forget about the bounty or whatever, and leave Yutai Town immediately. Running into her is just your bad luck."

"How so?"

"She used to be a member of our Heaven-Opening Sect. For reasons unknown, she murdered countless innocent people to frame and entrap Thunder Hall. This matter might be related to the Hall Master, but that's not important. What is important is that the number of lives on her hands is probably more than you could ever imagine."

Hearing this, Yang Chengzi felt his heart turn half cold. Stunned and speechless for a long time, he stood up to leave.

"Where... where are you rushing off to? Sit down, sit down."

Seeing that Yang Shiqian still had something to say even after he had taken two steps, Yang Chengzi sat back down.

"With things having reached this point, let's think of a countermeasures. Why are you running off..."

"You've painted such a terrifying picture—if I don't go back now, wouldn't that make me utterly brainless?"

"There's not much problem during the day. She uses the Falling Flower Blades, which are suited for assassinating. If she makes a move, it will most likely be at night; most of the people who died at her hands perished at night. If anyone happens to run into her out in the desolate wilderness in broad daylight, then that's just their bad luck. While she carries the Falling Flower Blades in town, she won't show herself in broad daylight."

"True. When I carried her back, she didn't have any weapons on her. They must be hidden in that dilapidated temple."

"Never mind where she has them hidden. Didn't you still need to ask about Mount Puxian?"

"Yes, but I can't worry about that anymore; I need to get out of here first. It's too dangerous."

"Not necessarily."

"Not necessarily?"

"Whether it's dangerous depends on whether you have silver. If you have silver, it's not dangerous, and it's safer here than anywhere else. If you don't have silver, brother can't help you."

"Silver? How much silver? And how would that help?"

"Thunder Hall has no shortage of experts. They usually take on external jobs as well; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to make a living. However, their rates are not low. You can just hire them to keep watch in shifts round the clock, and the two of you can peacefully go about asking after Mount Puxian."