Chapter 135: Bazi

He Yu gave me a nudge, telling me to pay. I was reluctant because I felt in my heart that this man was nothing more than an unscrupulous merchant. He Yu pulled me aside and whispered in my ear.

“Don’t be so stubborn. Since Old Lu brought us here, there’s no way he’s got the wrong person. It’s just a few cheap rings, and they aren’t nearly as important as the poison in Old Lu’s system. Who knows if that Corpse Poison will flare up again and threaten his life? Let’s just grit our teeth and get this over with. If this guy is trying to scam us, do you really think the three of us would let him get away?”

Hearing this, I realized he was right. This was no time to be rigid. Regardless of whether the man in front of us was actually effective, White Immortal was our only lead. Even if I managed to coax Lu A’yao into a hospital, I wouldn’t know how to explain the Porcelain Shards on his face to the doctors.

Anyway, with so many rings to toss, it wouldn’t be a total loss if I managed to win a prize or two.

So I walked over, took the plastic rings from White Immortal’s hand, and pulled two hundred-yuan bills from my pocket. I asked him, “Is this enough?”

White Immortal snatched the two hundred yuan from my hand, held the bills up to the sunlight, and then snapped them twice near his ear to listen to the sound. He gave me a sly grin. “Start tossing. If this isn’t enough, you can pay more later.”

As he spoke, he lifted two bundles of plastic rings from his battered tricycle. I stopped him. “There’s no need for the game. Is this enough to cover your earnings for the afternoon? I’ll make up for your sales if you just treat Old Lu.”

“Hey, that won’t do. I’m a man of professional ethics and I never scam people. I have to give you as many rings as you paid for. Business is business. I won’t start the treatment until you’ve tossed every single one of these,” White Immortal said, waving me off as he shoved the rings back into my hands. “If you don’t want to play, I’ll give you your money back.”

He Yu quickly stepped in and stuffed the two hundred yuan back into White Immortal’s hand. “Who said we aren’t playing? We’re playing! Come on, Little Yao!”

My hands were suddenly filled with twenty plastic rings by He Yu. He gave me a meaningful look as we walked over to the toy stall covered in red cloth. He whispered, “Just endure it and finish the rings quickly.”

I took a deep breath and began throwing the rings at the toys two at a time. It was a long, tedious process. I had never thought that a game of ring toss could be such a torturous form of entertainment. He Yu’s technique was better than mine, and his mindset was different too. He was actually calculating how to minimize our losses and win back as much value as possible.

During this time, White Immortal even came over to pry for information. “Do you two have money to burn? Why are you helping that guy named Lu?”

I gave him a sour look and replied, “What’s it to you?”

White Immortal shrugged, shut his mouth, and went back to using a long pole to help us collect the rings.

We tossed rings for over three hours, long enough that passersby began to gather to watch the spectacle. This actually drummed up quite a bit of business for White Immortal’s unlicensed stall. By the time we finished all the rings, He Yu and I were both slumped on the ground, drinking bottles of ice water.

The sun had set, and White Immortal finished packing his things into his rickety tricycle. He grabbed a large teddy bear, half as tall as a person, and tossed it to He Yu. “Your prize. Let’s go. Didn’t you want a doctor?”

He Yu and I exchanged a glance and climbed up from the ground at the same time.

White Immortal smiled at us and patted the tricycle, gesturing for us to get on. The three of us climbed into the cargo bed, squeezing in among the children’s toys.

White Immortal inserted the key and started the engine. The battered tricycle sped down the road, its rusted frame creaking and groaning at every turn. He drove fast, and as I sat on the edge of the bed, I finally felt a trace of cool summer breeze.

Half an hour later, the tricycle stopped beneath a massive, abandoned chimney in the suburbs. The chimney looked ancient, built entirely of red bricks. There was a small door at the back, and White Immortal opened it to let us inside.

Lu A’yao entered the chimney first. He Yu and I followed close behind, pausing only for a moment before stepping in. The space inside was much larger than I had imagined. I observed the surroundings and realized he had dug out a section of the ground beneath the original structure, expanding it further while ensuring structural stability.

The conditions here were quite harsh. A light was on inside the chimney, and bead curtains hung down. I could vaguely see a shadowless surgical lamp and a flat surgical bed. The outer area served as a living space with a sofa, a coffee table, and a cot. He Yu tapped me and gestured for me to look at the wall.

I looked up and saw rows of knives hanging there. Kukris, machetes, bayonets… if they weren’t restricted, they were banned. In short, not a single one was legal. If he were caught with these, he would definitely be serving some serious time.

He was a doctor, not a butcher. Why did he have so many knives?

White Immortal packed up quickly. He bought a can of beer and drank it as he walked in and closed the door. He patted Lu A’yao on the shoulder as he passed, then bypassed us to grab some supplies from the back. “Don’t just stand there, sit down. I haven’t had this many people in here for a long time.”

The way he said it was very strange, as if he were about to dismember us all and pack us into boxes.

I found a small sofa to sit on. White Immortal walked over carrying a sterilized surgical tray, tossed it casually onto the coffee table, and sat down heavily next to Lu A’yao. Lu A’yao cooperatively held out his wrist, and White Immortal rolled up his sleeve to begin taking his pulse.

While taking the pulse, he looked toward me and suddenly said, “I recognize you. Someone sent me your photo before. That person offered me a large sum of money to do something, but I didn’t agree.”

This sudden shift in topic left me dazed. Someone had secretly commissioned White Immortal to do something related to me before I even arrived? Had they predicted I would come looking for him? The method of using a letter didn’t seem novel to me. Could it be the same person who sent me those photos of dead people?

I asked, “Who was the person who commissioned you?”

White Immortal smiled and shook his head, signaling for Lu A’yao to switch hands for the pulse. He looked up again, a cold, mirthless smile on his face.

“I don’t know who sent the letter, but it was indeed a significant amount of money, more than I could earn in ten years of running a street stall. All I can say is, you’ve already been targeted.”

He finished taking the pulse, picked up his beer again, and waved a hand at Lu A’yao. “Alright, you’re perfectly healthy. Just stop trying to kill yourself. Every time you come here, you’ve either broken a limb or been poisoned. This time his blood was useful, but next time it might not be. Your time is different from that of ordinary people. I suggest you enjoy life and let go of your obsessions while you can.”

I caught the implication immediately and asked Lu A’yao, “How does he know about my blood? Did you tell him?”

The White Immortal smiled and pointed to his own eyes. “I didn’t need him to tell me. I can see everything. You accidentally ate something before, something quite extraordinary. I can see your blood vessels, and that substance has already made you different from normal people.”

I instinctively tried to feel for any change, but unfortunately, I felt nothing. Looking back at the White Immortal, I was startled. I hadn’t looked closely before, but now I realized the pupil of his left eye was unusual. A smaller pupil was nestled within the larger one, though it wasn’t very obvious. The two pupils, one large and one small, were joined together. You couldn’t see it unless you looked closely.

“What do you mean? Will there be any problems with Little Yao’s body?” He Yu asked.

“No, everything he ate was good stuff. Soon, he should start to feel how he differs from ordinary people. This influence isn’t immediately visible,” the White Immortal said with a smile. “Have you ever heard of someone accidentally falling and ending up with their third eye opened? What he ate is essentially the same thing.”

My heart skipped a beat. I immediately thought of that eerie chanting I had heard in the Ancient Pagoda, and cold sweat began to soak my back.

“I saw something when I looked at you today,” the White Immortal said to me. He then looked at He Yu before finally shifting his gaze to Lu A’yao. I noticed he was looking at the porcelain shards on Lu A’yao’s face.

The White Immortal hesitated for a moment, stroking his chin. “I take back what I said about you cherishing your life. I don’t think you’re going to die anymore.”

Lu A’yao didn’t react. When I was a child, I heard my grandfather say that those with double pupils possessed a certain spirituality and could see things ordinary people couldn’t. So, when the White Immortal mentioned this, I thought back to the curse Lu A’yao had told me about. I couldn’t help but press him for more. “What do you mean? What needs to happen so he won’t die?”

The White Immortal gave a soft laugh and pointed at me. “Your fate is poor. You have a Four Graves fate, and your Bazi is far too wretched. Because of that, anyone who stays with you will either lose everything they own, or end up dead or disabled. So, as long as you leave, he can live.”