Chapter 118 - 111 Three

Chapter 118: Chapter 111 Three "OneselfAt the end of this motivational manuscript, Zhou Xuan added a line—Bai Yang finished it on July 10 at Yu Xueyuan’s Mansion. This was the coded link, the time, he wrote for Jing Deng. "The people of Ping Shui Prefecture will likely love this motivational piece." Zhou Xuan had worked in media and knew there was a period in his past life when the public was very confused, desperately clinging to motivational shorts, with an emergence of many spiritual mentors, getting easy money and laughing their way to the bank. The public in Ping Shui Prefecture was also very confused and needed some motivational sustenance. As for potential logical holes in the article, like miners not being able to privately mine without various reports in Jing Country... "Don’t worry about loopholes, if they’re all filled in, the motivation loses its charm." Zhou Xuan put the manuscript in an envelope, and at the same time slipped in a note. To not reveal his handwriting, Zhou Xuan used a method of cutting out letters from newspapers and pieced them together to form the content. The content was as follows: If you want to receive subsequent manuscripts, submit using the pseudonym Bai Yang, without any modifications, to the "Ping Shui Business News." This newspaper had been long subscribed to by the Zhou Family’s Troupe, and it was Yu Zhengyuan who subscribed, not for any other reason than it was the only paper that would accept his "poetry submissions," even though he wrote a heap of poems within a year and only got two or three published. Zhou Xuan had also read the paper; though called a business paper, the articles were of varying quality, with little space for business discussions, but plenty of odds and ends. Submitting to such a newspaper, where distribution wasn’t wide, and submissions were less competitive, increased the chance of being published without needing an extra subscription, killing two birds with one stone. As for whether Jing Deng would see it? She submitted to every paper, read every paper, definitely wouldn’t miss it. Zhou Xuan sealed the envelope with glue before heading out. ... Zhou Xuan first went to Fifth Brother’s room; after lunch, he asked Lv Mingkun to help find a writer. This writer only had two requirements, first, his only source of income was through newspaper submissions. Second, he lived in hardship, often skipping meals. "Fifth Brother, have you found someone?" Zhou Xuan got straight to the point. "Found him." Lv Mingkun handed Zhou Xuan a note with an address and a name. Huafang Road, Red Brick Alley, No. 121, Guo Kaiming. "Huafang Road is just a few hundred meters along Taiping Road, then turn left..." Lv Mingkun, worried about Zhou Xuan’s sense of direction, explained once more. ... Zhou Xuan took a rickshaw to Taiping Road, found a teahouse, sat there for a while to ensure no one was tailing him, then went to Huafang Road. In a red-bricked alley—not covered with plaster—he found No. 121. Upon entering the alley, he actively released his perception, once again confirming there was no surveillance and nobody inside, he slipped the envelope through the door crack, then left naturally. ... Bathed in the last rays of the sunset, Guo Kaiming swayed towards his house. His swaying wasn’t leisurely, but rather because hunger made him dizzy. He used to be a transcriptionist. Ever since he submitted to newspapers and received decent payments, he stopped transcribing and started calling himself a legitimate writer. However, from then on, out of the twenty or thirty submissions he made, getting just one published was a feat. The manuscript fee could barely support him, but he couldn’t bring himself to humble himself and resume his old transcription trade at the street corner. "Spent the whole afternoon in a teahouse, couldn’t even find a long cigarette butt." Guo Kaiming struck a match and lit the short cigarette stub he had scrounged with difficulty, taking a greedy puff. Entering the house, Guo Kaiming saw an envelope lying inside. He tore it open and found it was a manuscript. The article in the manuscript was "The Water Seller." He read it from beginning to end and knew the chances of this piece being accepted were high. "Who sent this manuscript to my house?" He looked inside the envelope again, there was a note—if you want to receive subsequent manuscripts... "Use the pseudonym Bai Yang, can’t modify the content? They must have a high opinion of me; even if I wanted to change anything, I couldn’t." Guo Kaiming was too proud to open a stall, but he knew his ability well after so many failed submissions. "Finally some money, this piece could fetch a good manuscript fee." Excited, Guo Kaiming suddenly thought of something. "Right, didn’t Lao Yang mention while drinking last time, how he used to receive mysterious envelopes at home with manuscripts inside...and then he got rich...Same as me with Lao Yang...has my luck come!?" In his excitement, he hurriedly wrote a submission letter again and, ignoring his hunger, headed off to the newspaper office... ... With a new day, Zhou Xuan rose as early as ever and went to the gatekeeper’s lodge to read the newspaper. There was nothing from him in the "Taiping Business News," but in another paper, he found the coded message from the Blood Well Society’s meeting. "Bought seven hundred and fifty chips, planning to gamble on a future." This phrase appeared in articles from three different newspapers. "At seven fifty, the code, planning to gamble on a future." Zhou Xuan put the newspaper back. Today was the day for Blood Well Divination, initially planned for the morning. But since there was a meeting today, it would be best to attend it first. The meeting included Jing Deng explaining Blood Well knowledge, and say it’s not too late to go for divination afterward. ... "Xuan, I’ve been so tired lately, yet you dragged me to attend the Blood Well Society meeting, I’ve told you already, your dream created with two incense now is indistinguishable from reality, and nobody can see through it at the meeting." "I’ll craft the dream myself, and you keep an eye out in case something goes wrong, you can step in to help me out." Zhou Xuan wanted to create his dream to attend the meeting, but to be cautious, he asked the elder teacher to watch over nearby. "Alright, but make it quick." Yuan Buyu nodded drowsily. Zhou Xuan sat down, took out his gavel and folded fan, first using a voice-changing technique to make his voice more rugged, then used the gavel to generate a dreamscape. In the dream, he took on the image of a bearded fisherman, sitting on a fishing boat drifting in the sea. When the pocket watch’s hand pointed to seven fifty, Zhou Xuan closed his eyes and recited the code, "Planning to gamble on a future, planning to gamble on a future..." As he chanted the code, everything around him became misty. About a dozen blurry figures appeared in the foggy space. "Fortune, since joining the Blood Well Society, you’ve always been punctual." Jing Deng greeted Zhou Xuan. "Long time no see, Teacher Jing," Zhou Xuan smiled and said. "It has been a while indeed, let’s wait five more minutes, and if no new members get linked, we’ll start the lecture." Jing Deng said and continued murmuring the code, trying to link more members. "Miss Jing really takes her responsibilities seriously." Zhou Xuan praised silently. Since Jing Deng hadn’t started the lecture yet, the other members began to chat. "Lately, Mingjiang Prefecture has been chaotic, we all need to be cautious and avoid getting sealed." "Wasn’t it messy last week already, hasn’t the situation eased yet?" "It won’t ease; the kidnappers are keeping a tight watch on us," commented Zhimajiang, knowledgeable about Mingjiang Prefecture’s situation. "Why are the kidnappers watching us?" "To use us as sacrifices, I heard that behind the kidnappers is a thirty-year-old Alien Ghost Food Heaven, supposedly with a high incense level." "How high?" "Just one step away from six incense; it’s starving and started preying on us Blood Well spiritualists, using us as food to reach the incense level." Zhou Xuan thought the Blood Well Society members in Mingjiang Prefecture led a too perilous life, being continuously hunted. A member raised a question: "Aren’t kidnappers just human traffickers? Always doing shady dealings, how could you get caught by them?" Zhimajiang sighed, saying, "There are a lot of Ghosts in Mingjiang Prefecture, with a huge demand for blood, flesh, and bones. The kidnappers, in turn, gained a lot of support from various Tangkou as they supply them, all helping the kidnappers find Blood Well spiritualists. Our lives are difficult." "Then move, I hear Ping Shui Prefecture is quite peaceful with no kidnappers." "If it were that easy, I’d have left long ago; at train stations, docks, and exit gates, people from various Tangkou keep watch; you’d get caught alive going out..." Perhaps because the majority of the Blood Well Society members in the meeting hailed from Mingjiang Prefecture, half of them remained silent. "In such critical times, everyone needs to be extra cautious while going out to protect themselves; lately, there’s been some good news, though." Finally, Jing Deng was ready to start lecturing. "What news?" "Human Turtle is dead," she continued, "that Alien Ghost was our greatest enemy; with it gone, we Blood Well spiritualists aren’t so easy to catch. Let’s not dwell on negative talk; let’s discuss the Blood Well." Jing Deng began her lecture: "Last time, we talked about Blood Well Divination, but I want everyone to know that’s just the most basic power, divination’s directions are very vague and unspecific. However, if you’re willing to sacrifice for the Blood Well, its accuracy could increase significantly, and the guidance would become more specific... Many refer to Blood Well as an Alien Ghost, naturally possessing ghostly characteristics. A God’s transmission of skills is a legacy, whereas an Alien Ghost’s transmission is an exchange." "What’s the best offering for a sacrifice?" Zhou Xuan asked. "A Ghost with a high incense level or a Divine Person," Jing Deng replied, "or you can use perception to communicate with the Blood Well, letting it guide you on what the sacrifice should be..." Zhou Xuan knew Jing Deng’s research on the Blood Well was deep. From a learning perspective, he cherished attending the meeting, asking his burning question: "What exactly is the Blood Well, is it the same well each person sees?" "I don’t know much about the internal mysteries of the Blood Well, but I believe time within it is distorted." Jing Deng said, "Inside the Blood Well, I’ve seen both my past self and future self!" Silence fell among the crowd. Jing Deng continued, "As for whether everyone sees the same well, I can tell you, no. If you view the true Blood Well as a huge eerie house, the well you each see is merely the entrance. This entry is mobile and appears where you are. Blood Well’s entry points are numerous, but they follow one rule: if an entry is sensed by a Blood Well spiritualist, that entry becomes the personal pathway of that individual until they die. In short, once you enter your Blood Well Secret Realm, you must hold firm to your heart, never jumping into the well; if you do, time will become chaotic, and you might become a face on the well wall, becoming part of it, or you might fail to distinguish which one of you crawled out of the well, Or you might have your past, future, and present self all crawl out together." The crowd fell silent again. To lighten the mood, Zhimajiang said, "Teacher Jing, your lecture is so deep and mysterious..." Yet Zhou Xuan disagreed, he had total faith in what Jing Deng said. He understood that Jing Deng was one of the few who had truly entered the Blood Well and come back alive. PS: Hey brothers, only two updates today.