Chapter 148: Hidden Secrets

I picked up on a useful piece of information, so I tossed aside the skin of my second persimmon and looked at Bai Shenxian. “Why? Why sew his face? Since you were the one who sewed the porcelain shards onto him, you must know what the talismans on them mean, right?”

Bai Shenxian gave a mysterious smile. “This isn’t something a kid should be hearing. These are secret matters. If you want to know, you’ll have to give me a little something in return.”

He reached out and rubbed two fingers together in front of me. I thought to myself that a dog really can’t stop eating shit; he hadn’t spoken a single word of substance yet and was already asking for cash. However, I hesitated, because my curiosity about such matters was indeed very strong.

I patted my pockets, only to realize I hadn’t carried any cash with me the night I went to Xinchang Bank. That was a bit embarrassing.

Bai Shenxian saw that I was broke and clicked his tongue. “And here I thought you were loaded. Turns out you’re a pauper just like me. Fine, we’ll put it on your tab for now. When we get back, you can transfer the money to my account. I want this much.”

He held up three fingers and flashed them in front of me. My temper immediately flared up. “Holy shit! Three thousand?! Are you robbing me?!”

“What? Listen or don’t. Telling outsiders about this easily invites retribution. What’s wrong with saving a little coffin money for myself?” Bai Shenxian spread his hands.

I didn’t want to hear him rattle on any further. He talked way too much, and listening to him for too long gave me a headache. I figured forget it, I’d just treat it as getting bitten by a dog while walking down the street. Three thousand it was. I hadn’t asked for this month’s living allowance yet anyway; at worst, I’d hand over whatever money I got to him and work part-time at a fast-food joint to cover my meals.

So I waved a hand. “Fine, fine, just tell me already. Once my Fourth Brother comes back in a minute, we won’t be able to talk.”

Bai Shenxian coughed twice to clear his throat and asked me, “Have you ever heard the saying, ‘Those who reveal heavenly secrets must suffer five calamities’?”

I shook my head, so Bai Shenxian explained it to me.

This was an ancestral instruction of the Lu Clan, one of the Five Masters. The purpose of this ancestral instruction was to warn future generations of the Lu Clan to always hold three parts back in everything they said and did. But their idea of “holding three parts back” wasn’t about showing leniency to others, as most people understood it; it meant leaving three parts of a way out for themselves.

For “those who reveal heavenly secrets must suffer five calamities,” and the “Five Banes and Three Deficiencies” among them referred to being a widower, widow, orphan, childless, or disabled, as well as lacking wealth, life, or power.

I talked with Bai Shenxian for a long time. He spouted so much nonsense that if I wrote it all down, I would probably ruin two more fountain pens. Therefore, I’ll only provide a brief summary and fill in the blanks regarding this bit of secret Lu Clan history.

Lu Ayao’s face had been mangled by a lightning strike, leaving half of it a bloody mess. The bolt had grazed him as it hit; if Lu Xiaosu hadn’t yanked him back in time, he might have died on the spot.

As for why the lightning struck with such deadly precision, Bai Shenxian said it was because Lu Ayao had spoken out of turn. A single sentence of his had saved a life that was fated to end, so he had to pay with his own life to balance the debt of that spared soul.

That was what Bai Shenxian told me, though it sounded awfully mystic and vague. I always had a feeling he wasn’t entirely sure of the details himself, and later I was nearly certain that ninety percent of his story was just a scheme to gouge money out of me.

For one thing, he had still been young back then, so his memory might have played tricks on him. For another, he was only in charge of stitching the porcelain shards into place and handling the emergency resuscitation. The shards themselves had been brought over by Lu Xiaosu in a cloth pouch. Still, he was certain about one thing: Lu Ayao was still breathing faintly when he arrived at the Bai Family.

Speaking of which, I have to mention the Lu Clan.

In the past, the Lu Clan had many children gifted with spiritual sensitivity. According to Bai Shenxian, some could even accurately foresee future events. People like that were of extraordinary importance, so in the early years, the clan’s divination business was massive, with many of them being scouted by top authorities at a very young age.

But once matters in this world get tangled up with power and money, things grow far more complicated. Common folk turn to divination merely to seek fortune and avoid harm, but the patrons seeking out the Lu Clan wanted far more than simple self-preservation. Sure enough, the years that followed proved the truth of their ancestral warning: “those who reveal heavenly secrets must suffer five calamities.”

The ranks of the Lu Clan’s descendants thinned at a terrifying speed, dying off or left maimed.

With the family line so severely depleted, finding someone to succeed as head of the clan became a pressing dilemma. Left with no alternative, Lu Xiaosu had to set aside her initial plans and begin training Lu Ayao, who was only five years old at the time.

Bai Shenxian’s storytelling ground to a sudden halt as hands and crew members filtered back into the cabin, filling it with noise and activity. I packed up my gear and stepped outside for some fresh air, only to see He Yu leaning against the railing with an arm slung around Lu Ayao’s shoulders, drinking beer.

Spotting me, He Yu waved eagerly and tossed over the remaining can of beer. “Hurry up! What were you guys blabbering about?”

I caught the can and walked over, holding it without drinking. He Yu reeked of booze, his face as red as a monkey’s backside. The guy had terrible alcohol tolerance, yet he loved drinking all the same—missing it for a single meal left him fidgety all over.

“Gan Ji, look at all those stars up there! I haven’t seen so many stars in ages. They look just like night-luminescent pearls. You ever seen one of those?” He Yu started rambling again. “Let me tell you, a single night-luminescent pearl could buy a massive house! A sprawling luxury condo, you know?”

“What’s the matter, Old He? Thinking of changing careers?” I teased.

“You damn right. I’ve wanted to switch jobs for ages. So many fine treasures pass through my hands every single day, but fuck me if a single one belongs to yours truly. It makes my mouth water! Tell me, why don’t I ever get that kind of luck? Is it just not written in my fate?”

I laughed when I heard him say that. “What more do you want? Isn’t it good enough that we’re healthy like this?”

He Yu pouted, looking up at the sky. After gazing at it for a moment, he nodded. “True. You’ve got a point. What more could I want?”

As we chatted, the conversation eventually died down. He Yu and I leaned over the ship’s railing together, while Lu Ayao leaned back against the side of the boat, staring off into space. I looked up at the brilliant stars in the sky. I’d bet that night had the most stars I’d ever seen in my life.

Just then, the Jade Disc hanging around my neck slipped out from under my shirt. I set down my beer, took the jade off, and catching a glimpse of Lu Ayao in the moonlight, held the jade up to one eye.

This piece of jade was of excellent quality. Even setting aside its age, it would be considered high-grade stuff in today’s market. Through the jade, I could see Lu Ayao’s blurry silhouette nearly merging with the moonlight, while that thin vein of blood-red staining^[1] stretched across my vision like a distant mountain range.

Lu Ayao moved, and I took the opportunity to hand the jade back to him. “Here, back to you.”

He glanced at the jade, then looked at me calmly without taking it.

I knew he was waiting for me to speak. He had probably guessed that Bai Shenxian would tell me a few things, and since none of it could really be kept from him anyway, I didn’t bother trying to hide it. “He was telling me about the porcelain shards on your face, and then he tried to extort money from me.”

“It’s all fake. Don’t give him a single cent,” Lu Ayao said bluntly.

I was a bit surprised. “If you don’t mind,” I asked him, “could you tell me about it?”

Lu Ayao shook his head. “I never mind. I only keep quiet because I don’t remember it. I don’t clearly recall anything before I was six. People of the Lu Clan can calculate their own ends, and I can too. Besides, I can feel my life slipping away.”

Seeing him make zero effort to fight for his life infuriated me. I quickly turned my back to him, pinched my philtrum^[2] hard a few times, and took several deep breaths. Don’t get angry, I told myself, don’t get angry. Feudal superstition ruins lives, and he’s just been poisoned by it. Eradicating superstition takes time.

Turning back around, I put on a bright smile and clapped Lu Ayao firmly on the shoulder twice. “There are still more than ten years until forty, like you said. We can take our time finding a way out of this. Who can say for sure with these things? You haven’t even been to a proper hospital. How do you know it isn’t just some rare illness?”

“No,”

Lu Ayao tried to speak, but I immediately cut him off. “Regardless, we all have to live well for our own sakes. Don’t you agree, He Yu?”

He Yu didn’t answer, so I called out again.

“He Yu?”

Still no answer. A flash of annoyance washed over me. What, had I been up front performing a solo comedy routine all this time? Where had my straight man^[3] gone? For Patient Lu, whose mind was so deeply rooted in feudal superstition, the effectiveness of this treatment was definitely going to suffer!

I turned around to look, only to see that He Yu had slumped onto the deck at some point and was fast asleep.