Chapter Sixty-Five: A Convergence of Fortunes

At this point, there was no turning back. I had no choice but to test the power of the Palm Thunder. Master Xingyun had passed away; whatever happened, I owed it to him to do my best.

“You are the one Master Xingyun waited so long for. You must master the Palm Thunder. Give it a try—let your mind and spirit become one,” the young monk beside me said. As I followed his instructions, I couldn’t help but think: wasn’t this little monk supposed to be mute? How could he suddenly speak?

It was certainly puzzling, but now wasn’t the time to ask. With Master Xingyun gone, I needed to test the Palm Thunder’s might as soon as possible and then join Wei Qi to capture the vengeful ghost Shaoxiang.

I squatted down, lowered my hips, spread my feet, drew my hands to my waist, fists facing upward, and aimed at my target. Then, with all my strength, I struck. Midway, I transformed my fist into an open palm, the center facing the target.

Following the young monk’s guidance, I unleashed a powerful palm strike. My word! The force was incredible. I was more than thirty meters away from the fake mountain outside the door, yet with this single blow, I snapped the bamboo growing atop it, and a cascade of stones tumbled down.

Marveling at the power of Palm Thunder, I didn’t notice the young monk approaching, his face clouded with displeasure. “Master waited all these years just for a novice like you? Squat down, focus your intent and spirit, repeat the posture. Fix your gaze on the object ahead—that is your enemy. Inhale, then inhale again. Let the breath pass from your lower abdomen, channel it to your limbs and palms, then strike.”

I listened closely, following his words step by step, and at last delivered another palm strike.

Boom!

A tremendous sound erupted, and the fake mountain instantly dissolved into a cloud of dust. When the smoke cleared, nothing remained but scattered stones.

I was stunned. Was I really this powerful? Wei Qi was equally astonished, staring at me in disbelief. “Damn, man, this is insane.”

The young monk’s angry expression faded. “Not bad. If you’d turned out to be worthless, you’d have let Master down. He was meant to pass away at a hundred and ten, but he forcibly extended his life by six years. If he hadn’t found a successor in that time, the Palm Thunder would have died with him.”

“If you have such aptitude, why didn’t Master Xingyun pass it on to you?” Wei Qi voiced the question that was on my mind as well.

“I have no such talent. He was a once-in-a-millennium sage. That’s enough, you two should go now.” Perhaps because his master had just passed, the young monk didn’t want us to linger.

“Master, I—I have one more thing to ask,” Wei Qi said, grabbing his sleeve.

“Speak!”

“Back when we first arrived, weren’t you mute? How come you’re talking now?” Wei Qi was just as nosy as I was, never able to let things go, still chasing answers even now.

“Master should have passed three years ago, but he couldn’t find a successor, so he asked me to try. I failed. He had no choice but to gather the world’s spiritual energy and extend his life by six years, just to wait for you two. This goes against the natural order—only I knew about it. To keep Master’s secret, I pretended to be mute for three years. Now that he’s gone, I no longer have to act.” The young monk’s explanation suddenly made everything clear to us. It was fate, after all. In this world, all things are bound by the ties of destiny.

“All right, you should go back. Remember Master’s words—help him rid the world of that vengeful ghost.” With that, the young monk prepared to leave.

Wei Qi tugged at him again. “Little master, now that Master Xingyun has passed, can we attend his funeral? We’d like to see him off.” I felt the same. Though our acquaintance had been brief, fate had brought us here. He had passed on the Palm Thunder to us; such kindness deserved our gratitude. It was only right that we, as juniors, should see him off.

But the young monk shook his head. “Master will not have a funeral. After his passing, his body remains in his chamber, uncorrupted for a hundred days, and will finally be transformed into a golden body.”

Such miracles were not surprising for Master Xingyun. After bidding farewell to the young monk, Wei Qi and I left Dinglin Temple. Wei Qi was beaming. The Xingyun Staff was a rare treasure; though we hadn’t yet tested it, its power surely surpassed most magical instruments. Now, with Palm Thunder, I would no longer need to risk my life each time I faced an evil spirit or ghost.

Yet I didn’t feel happy. Palm Thunder had increased my strength, but Master Xingyun was gone. Without him, how would I find Zhuge Jin’s descendants? Without them, I couldn’t obtain the method for refining Blood Linglong. If I couldn’t get Blood Linglong, how could I keep Wang Ying with me? I was in low spirits, quietly brooding.

“Wait, Benefactor Wang!” As we descended the stone steps, the young monk’s voice called from behind. We turned to see him running out in haste.

“Benefactor Wang, Master instructed me—whoever inherits Palm Thunder must also receive this brocade box. All your questions, doubts, and desires are within.” As he spoke, he handed me a yellow brocade box.

I took it, unable to resist asking, “Little master, is there really what I’m looking for in here? Like the Blood Linglong formula?”

My desire to save Wang Ying was too urgent—I couldn’t help but ask.

“I’ve never opened it. What Master left for you—only you can open it. If fate wills it, what you seek will be inside; if not, don’t force it. Now go.” The young monk pressed his palms together, chanting ‘Amitabha’, then turned and left.

Gazing at his retreating figure, a wave of melancholy washed over me. This world was so wondrous, yet so full of helplessness.

I yearned to open the box, but it was inconvenient on the road. Better to wait till I got home. I supposed the box contained magical manuals, nothing to do with Blood Linglong. After all, there was no way he could have foreseen Wang Ying’s life and death.

I tucked the box away, and Wei Qi and I headed straight for the ancient tomb halfway up the mountain.

Fulaishan was a famous tourist spot, but according to records, there were no paths near the ancient tomb, so few visitors ventured there.

Following the same narrow path as last time, we found the tomb. One glance at the entrance left us startled. We had filled it in after our last visit, but now it was open again. The mouth of the tomb was smooth and clean—clearly something had been coming and going frequently.

“Are we going down?” Wei Qi looked at me.

I nodded. “Of course. Let’s catch Shaoxiang quickly, and fulfill Master Xingyun’s last wish.” I said this, all the while thinking: the sooner we finished, the sooner I could be with Wang Ying. Maybe the brocade box would contain something about Blood Linglong. If it did, all the better. If not, I’d keep searching for the Zhuge family’s descendants.

Wei Qi led, I followed, and together we entered the tomb. Inside, it was pitch black. Luckily, Wei Qi had bought a small flashlight at the foot of the mountain. We kept it off, using it only for emergencies.

Feeling our way through the darkness, I wasn’t so afraid, perhaps because of the Palm Thunder. Wei Qi hefted the Xingyun Staff on his shoulder, striding forward boldly.

After a while, we reached the main hall where we’d been before. It was still a mess, broken tools scattered about, the floor littered with burnt corpse-worms. Huge corpse-oil lamps still burned on the walls, crackling and popping. Everything was as we’d left it, but there was no sign of the vengeful ghost Shaoxiang.

Just as we were wondering what to do, a figure suddenly appeared on our left—a man, a vicious-faced man, his complexion dark and grim, teeth sharpened into fangs. By any measure, he was no longer human.

“Who are you? How dare you enter my brother’s imperial tomb?” he barked, barefoot, slapping across the floor toward us. At the sight of him, I was sure he was Shaoxiang, now a vengeful ghost.

Wei Qi brandished the Xingyun Staff. “What evil ghost dares torment the living? Watch me put an end to you!” With the staff in hand, he stood tall and resolute.

It worked. The ghost’s vicious glare faded at the sight of the staff. In a flash, he darted into the wall beside us.

Wei Qi and I hurried after. The wall was smooth and pitch-black, and as we looked closer, it turned transparent. On the other side was a strange, unfamiliar world. I reached out—at my touch, the wall rippled like water.

“What’s going on? An illusion? Do we go in?” Wei Qi turned to ask me.

“We go in!” My only thought was to capture the ghost and get out as quickly as possible.