Chapter 29: The Master of Joyous Nuptials
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Tap, tap.
Accompanied by footsteps descending the stairs, a figure appeared before the others. The newcomer wore a long hemp robe, with a battered eyepatch hanging around her neck.
Shi Jiwen and the Su sisters were instantly shocked. They had never expected this person to still be alive.
Wu Xian, however, revealed a flicker of delight.
The woman who had just appeared was Yue Mei, who had disappeared earlier—the resident of Room 408. Her clothing was far more austere than before, yet she looked considerably more beautiful. Her skin had grown a shade fairer, and she seemed much more self-assured.
Since Yue Mei had appeared, it proved that his suggestion had been correct: there was a way to survive outside the inn.
He looked at her expectantly. “Tell us, then. What is your method?”
An inscrutable expression crossed Yue Mei’s face.
“Would you like to learn about our savior—the Ghost Mother Who Searches for Her Child?”
…
The third floor of the Peaceful Inn.
Wu Xian drew out a netherworld banknote and placed it atop the divine statue.
Yue Mei’s appearance had given the desperate group a possible path to survival.
She had merely claimed to possess a way out of their predicament, however, while keeping the details secret. They knew only that it was connected to the Ghost Mother Who Searches for Her Child, and that the full explanation would be given that evening.
Although she was being deliberately mysterious, the mere fact that she was still alive was enough to invalidate Wu Xian and the others’ plan. They could only choose to follow Yue Mei’s lead.
It was still daylight, and everyone else had gone in search of divine statues to strengthen themselves.
Wu Xian, meanwhile, carried his netherworld banknotes and began his first shopping trip in the blessed land. He placed a ten-denomination note into the mouth of the statue’s Buddha head.
Slurp!
The Buddha head swallowed the banknote as if it were a strand of noodles. Then the statue’s base opened, and strips of wood and bolts of cloth emerged. In the blink of an eye, they assembled themselves into a small stall.
Nine clusters of golden light were displayed upon it.
Four contained talismans: the Sharpness Talisman, the Golden Radiance Incantation, the Empowerment Rite, and the Headless Resurrection Art.
Three were shaped like books, each containing a supernatural ability: the Golden Crow’s Feather, Demonic Transformation, and Yin-Yang Eyes.
The last two were magical artifacts: a Purifying Whisk and a Peachwood Sword.
Every item here cost seventy netherworld banknotes. Wu Xian had originally possessed two hundred and ten, but he had spent ten to open the shop. That meant he could afford only two items, and he needed to consider his choices carefully.
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Wu Xian first eliminated the magical artifacts. He had no use for the Purifying Whisk, while the Peachwood Sword overlapped in function with his Copper Coin Sword and therefore fell outside his considerations as well.
He then turned his attention to the talismans.
The Sharpness Talisman could make an object razor-sharp, while the Golden Radiance Incantation released a beam of golden light to attack an enemy. Wu Xian discarded both of them immediately.
The Copper Coin Sword did not need sharpening, and the effect of the Golden Radiance Incantation overlapped with that of the True Fire Incantation.
Next came the Headless Resurrection Art.
This was a spell intended for the caster himself. Once activated, being decapitated would not result in death. As long as one picked up one’s head and placed it back upon one’s neck, one could revive. It was extremely useful for feigning death.
But recently, corpses had been disappearing from the Peaceful Inn one after another. Under such circumstances, pretending to be dead would be like an old man hanging himself—an absurd attempt to hasten his own demise.
The Empowerment Rite, on the other hand, was rather intriguing.
It could upgrade any ordinary talisman to a rare-grade talisman, and an upgraded talisman could recover its number of uses. After pondering for a while, Wu Xian reached into the golden light and pulled out the Empowerment Rite.
It was perfectly suited for the True Fire Incantation.
After purchasing it, Wu Xian had only one hundred and thirty netherworld banknotes left. He turned his attention to the remaining three supernatural abilities.
Demonic Transformation: It steals wisdom and life, destroys the Dao and its teachings, and corrupts the roots of virtue; thus it is called demonic. Those who undergo demonic transformation lose their sanity, their sinews and bones mutate, they cease to honor the laws of Heaven or the bonds of morality, and they resemble evil spirits.
Yin-Yang Eyes: With eyes that penetrate both yin and yang, one can see ghosts and behold the netherworld.
As for the final ability, the Golden Crow’s Feather, Wu Xian’s chest hair had already taken on the shape of a Golden Crow’s feathers…
Of the three supernatural abilities, Demonic Transformation should have been the strongest, but its negative effects were also the most terrifying. If he lost control after transforming, he might simply become insane. Wu Xian had no intention of considering it.
The Yin-Yang Eyes were of little use either, since the evil spirits in this blessed land were already visible to the naked eye.
After much deliberation, Wu Xian chose the Golden Crow’s Feather once more.
Who knew? Perhaps enough accumulation could eventually produce a qualitative transformation.
Unlike talismans and magical artifacts, supernatural abilities had no tangible form within the golden light. When Wu Xian pressed his hand into it, a warm current immediately seeped into his body.
His scalp began to itch. He took out his phone and snapped a selfie, only to discover several golden strands mixed into his hair. At the same time, the fire within his body burned considerably hotter than before.
Once the transaction was complete, all the wooden boards and strips of cloth retracted.
To Wu Xian’s surprise, however, the Many-Treasure Tathagata statue did not vanish like the other statues.
That meant anyone could use it as long as they possessed netherworld banknotes. After a moment’s thought, Wu Xian removed all concealment surrounding the statue.
If the others had netherworld banknotes, they could come and use it.
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Given the circumstances, any increase in strength—no matter who achieved it—would benefit everyone.
…
Afterward, Wu Xian searched the nearby area, hoping to find another divine statue or encounter a minor evil spirit.
But after searching several times, he found nothing.
The blessed land contained only so much space. The places that were easy to search had already been thoroughly combed through. Even if more divine statues were hidden somewhere, they would not be easy to locate.
Suddenly, inspiration struck Wu Xian.
He realized there was one more place where a divine statue might be hidden.
He hurried to the building opposite the inn, ran all the way to the fourth floor, and kicked open a door.
On the first morning in the blessed land, Wu Xian had seen a man hanging from the billboard opposite, his internal organs torn out.
At the time, he had paid little attention. But thinking back now, the man’s presence proved that a horrific evil-spirit incident had once taken place in the room behind the billboard.
And places like that were the most likely to contain divine statues—or useful miscellaneous items.
Wu Xian put his detective skills to work and searched the room from top to bottom in the shortest time possible. In the end, he discovered a thirty-centimeter-tall divine statue inside the oven of the integrated kitchen range.
The statue was shaped like a woman. She wore a phoenix crown and bridal robes, and held a red chain in both hands. A metal collar was fastened to each end of the chain. Beneath the veil of the phoenix crown was a face without a single feature.
The statue’s name was written upon its pedestal:
Heavenly Official—Master of Joyous Marriage
The notebook given to him by Qi Zhiyong contained an introduction to this statue. Worshiping the Master of Joyous Marriage could grant talismans whose names ended with the suffix “Art.”
What puzzled Wu Xian, however, was that the statue stood in a space far too cramped and narrow for anyone to worship it properly.
Thus, he could only summon every ounce of vigilance and cautiously extend his hand into the integrated kitchen range.
Among the horror films he had seen, one type of plot had endured for generations.
A character would be forced to reach into some narrow, lightless place, only to be ambushed by the ghost hiding within—cut apart, shredded, roasted alive, dragged inside. Anything, no matter how outrageous, could happen.
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