Chapter 165 - 150 Bone Elder Scholar

Chapter 165: Chapter 150 Bone Elder Scholar"Who did this tattoo?" Li Chengfeng asked. "Teacher, his name is Zhou Jun, and he runs a purification shop on East Market Street," Duan Qinglan replied. Li Chengfeng nodded seriously and held the Heavenly Official Blessing in his hand, sighing, "The streets and alleys, teahouses and taverns, always hide talents." He relaxed his right hand, extended it in front of him, and softly prayed, "Yang contains Qian and Li, the moon moves in Ding and Gui, the sun’s flame and orchid smoke, the moon’s fire crystal clear..." A lamp of white flame and a lamp of green flame appeared out of thin air, intertwining like a wick, spiraling on Li Chengfeng’s right palm. The Bone Elder gave birth to the "City God," but their abilities were assigned to the Praying Heavenly Official. They were divided into two branches, splitting into "Prayer" and "Sacrifice" branches. Li Chengfeng was currently one of the few in the "Prayer" branch. He brought the fire in his right hand close to the Heavenly Official Blessing and closed his eyes to visualize. "I saw the starry sky, saw a layer of mist over the starry sky, in which seemed to hide an enormous secret. Use the fire to illuminate the mist... above the mist, it was a void full of life." Duan Qinglan sat on the sofa, resting her cheeks in her hands, gazing at the teacher as he spoke. *She had been fascinated by the way her teacher lectured since childhood, speaking slowly and behaving elegantly, capturing the essence of the Bone Elder.* *People in the martial arts world often imagined Bone Elder people as bullies, bandits, cunning businessmen,* *but Duan Qinglan didn’t think so. Strength was the Bone Elder’s style, but the essence of the Bone Elder was scholars in the field of mysticism.* *The Bone Elder thought day and night, researching the deepest secrets of Jing Country.* *The Blood Well, Evil God, Obsession, Heavenly God’s Fire, those secrets making up the underground bloodstream of Jing Country, all involved the Bone Elder Association, tirelessly seeking the laws operating behind them.* Duan Qinglan believed that the person in the Bone Elder Association who most embodied the scholar image was her teacher. *Out of admiration for her teacher, even though she was already a staunch member of the Suffering Faction, she never detested her interactions with her teacher.* "Teacher, why does the void have life?" Duan Qinglan seemingly returned to her student years, raising her hand to ask the teacher. Li Chengfeng opened his eyes, extinguishing the fire in his hand, and replied, "Life is nurtured in the void. When nurtured, the world remains in a state of void, but the pulse of life has already begun to beat." "This tattoo is like that, life is being nurtured, but the world of the tattoo is a void." "This tattoo isn’t truly completed," Duan Qinglan said. "Once completed, life will be delivered," Li Chengfeng said. "So does this tattoo have hope of being completed?" His tone was not calm, mixed with a tinge of hope. "This is why I came to find the teacher." Duan Qinglan relayed Zhou Xuan’s request for a human sacrifice to Li Chengfeng. During this time, she watched her teacher’s expression carefully. From beginning to end, Li Chengfeng displayed no additional expression; he sunk into the sofa, hands resting on his knees, his body never moving. "Understood, he wants to become an Evil God," Li Chengfeng said. "I can agree to the human sacrifice request." "Teacher, I don’t understand." "You don’t understand my non-refusal attitude towards the Evil God?" Li Chengfeng asked. "Yes," Duan Qinglan thought that even if the teacher agreed to Zhou Xuan’s request, he would struggle internally for a long time. To her surprise, he agreed so readily. "We are always afraid of the Evil God, which leads to hatred of the Evil God. But through years of research, it is found that an Evil God who grows up is closer to the Heavenly God in today’s world, closer than the Alien Ghosts or Divine People." "Don’t fear; learn to guide them." Li Chengfeng said, "I am very much looking forward to meeting that young tattoo master." ... East Market Street, inside Zhou’s Purification Shop. Zhou Xuan sat by the counter in the outer hall, eyes closed, holding a human skin tattoo, swaying it side to side. The tattoo’s design was a pair of eerie eyes. In the position between the eyes, a drop of Zhou Xuan’s finger blood was marked. The corners of the eyes curved upwards, and the pupils flickered with a slight light, observing the scene ahead, simultaneously transmitting these scenes into Zhou Xuan’s mind... It became an eye growing outside Zhou Xuan’s body. As Zhou Xuan swayed the "eye" tattoo from side to side, the viewing angle expanded, and more scenes were perceived by Zhou Xuan. "An eye outside the body? Interesting." Zhou Xuan opened his eyes, placed the "eye" on the counter, wiped away the finger blood in the middle with a handkerchief, and rolled up the tattoo. The "eye" was a blood map of one incense, requiring a mixture of "Divine People, Ghost" blood to make. Zhou Xuan was a Nuo God, and although the second incense repaired the Yin People’s Hall, in essence, he was a Divine Person. He used his own blood, along with Lv Mingkun’s blood, to create the "eye." Zhou Xuan placed the completed tattoo into the drawer in the inner hall, where Senior Brother Lv was stitching up a body for a "client." This guest was said to be an ironsmith. When forging, the furnace overturned, pinning him down, with the red-hot iron piercing into his throat. It was tragic... The tragic death meant the purification difficulty was high. If it were any other shop’s master, they’d have been cursing, but not only did Lv Mingkun refrain from cursing, he was quite pleased. In his words, the more tragic the death of the person whose corpse he stitches, the faster the incense accumulates. "Senior Brother, you continue. I’ll go out for a walk." Zhou Xuan had been cooped up in the shop for too long, his mind uneasy, thinking of taking a stroll in East Market Street. He hadn’t yet reached the tea shop when Lao Yang called out to him, "Brother Zhou!" "Lao Yang, at this time, shouldn’t you be at Da Sixi Mahjong Hall?" "Sigh, don’t mention it. It’s bad luck. My hand’s really been rotten these past few days. Play all day, can’t win more than a couple of hands. It’s not about the money; the key is the frustration. Now some people on East Market Street are saying your tattoos are magical. You see... could you ink me something to change my luck?" Lao Yang clarified his request. Zhou Xuan looked up at the sky and said, "There’s no need for that. Luck is something that naturally improves after resting for a few days. Will the heavens really let you be unlucky for a lifetime?" "Oh, come on, help out." Lao Yang pulled Zhou Xuan’s hand and stuffed a packet of Lao Dao into his palm. Zhou Xuan accepted the cigarettes and said to Lao Yang, "Look, I can’t help you change your luck, but I can help you win." "Win without luck?" Lao Yang asked, very puzzled. Zhou Xuan was affected deeply by Lao Yang’s question, *thinking that Lao Yang never applied any strategy while playing, relying solely on luck.* *Listening to opponents, he relied on toughness; claiming victories, he depended on fate?* *Thinking of this, Zhou Xuan felt skeptical,* questioning if even selling the "eye" to Lao Yang would enable him to win. "Brother Zhou, why did you stop talking?" "Lao Yang, let me ask you: If you can see two players’ hands, could you win at mahjong?" Zhou Xuan’s question also touched Lao Yang’s soul. "Brother Zhou, don’t you know how to play mahjong? There are only four players, including myself, then I could see two others’ hands. If I couldn’t win after that, I might as well drown myself in a dung pit!" After saying this, Lao Yang pounded his chest, confidently guaranteeing, "I’ll win for sure!" "That’s good." Zhou Xuan said, "I’ll give you a tattoo, the price... handle it when you’ve made your winnings." He led Lao Yang into the shop, took out the "eye" tattoo, and handed it to Lao Yang. The potential selling price of a tattoo depended on the client’s wealth and the uniqueness of its function. From a certain perspective, the "eye" tattoo functioned like an instant camera, decent for stealing glances at cards, a must-have for gamblers. However, Zhou Xuan didn’t have time to find gamblers in casinos to sell the "eye" and couldn’t afford the delay. Since Lao Yang could use it, he practically gave it away as a favor. "I just want a bit of face; keep all your winnings." Lao Yang wasn’t short of funds, but he’d never be willing to shell out thousands for an "eye." "Before using, remember to place a drop of finger blood between the eyes! Also, you play in a private room, right? Hang the tattoo in a position beforehand to simultaneously see two sets of cards, understand?" Zhou Xuan instructed. "Understood." "Go then, King of Mahjong." Zhou Xuan waved his hand and continued out for a stroll. This time, before he reached the Old Painting Pavilion, he heard Fuzi calling out behind him. "Young Master, Young Master." "Little Fuzi, you’re not watching the hall, why did you come out?" "A distinguished guest came looking for you," Little Fuzi said. "Who?" Zhou Xuan asked. "It’s the Mrs. Duan who bought the Heavenly Official Blessing," Little Fuzi replied. "Well, I’ll head back to the shop to take a look." Zhou Xuan strolled back to the shop unhurriedly. ... Li Chengfeng was a bit overweight, and since he only focused mentally when studying ancient texts, he appeared quite lazy sitting on the bamboo chair. "Young Master, the teacher agreed to your request and is willing to buy that tattoo," Duan Qinglan solemnly said to Zhou Xuan. "Good." Zhou Xuan walked to the shop door and turned back to ask, "Mrs. Duan, aren’t you coming in?" "I’ll wait outside," Duan Qinglan said with a smile. "Okay!" Zhou Xuan entered the shop and saw Li Chengfeng: "You want to buy the Heavenly Official Blessing?" "Is it Mr. Xiao Zhou?" "Just call me Xiao Zhou." "Mr. Xiao Zhou, you are so gracious. I am Li Chengfeng, a teacher at Mingjiang Huifeng Medical College." Li Chengfeng wasn’t entirely lying. The place he usually worked at was Huifeng Medical College, founded with funding from the Bone Elder Association. "Mr. Li, the requirements for buying the tattoo, Mrs. Duan has explained to you, right?" "Explained." Li Chengfeng stood up and asked, "Can I choose the upstairs as the place to perform the ritual?" "Private rooms are not very convenient. If you are willing, I can take you to a place, absolutely private," Zhou Xuan said. "Please lead the way, Mr. Xiao Zhou." ... Inside the Old Painting Pavilion, Li Chengfeng said no more. The front and back doors were locked, nobody was on the second floor, absolutely private. Plus, Duan Qinglan was watching the wind at the door. No one knew he was undergoing a human sacrifice ritual. He no longer hesitated, took off his shirt, revealing wrinkled skin. He half-knelt on the ground, his right hand forming a claw, scratching five bloody marks on his chest. "Mr. Xiao, please extend your right hand," Li Chengfeng said. Zhou Xuan’s right hand was the Sukuna Hand, and unwilling to let Li Chengfeng see through it, he extended his left hand. Li Chengfeng didn’t mind if it was the left or right hand, as most people were right-handed and habitually extended their right hand. He dipped his blood, not immediately writing down blood letters, but instead asked, "Mr. Xiao, your human sacrifice ritual seems a bit chaotic with some mistakes and errors." The old man before him seemed quite knowledgeable about the ritual. Zhou Xuan wasn’t surprised; Duan Qinglan stemmed from the Bone Elder, so her teacher was certainly not just an "ordinary teacher at medical college." "Sir, where are the mistakes and errors in the ritual?" "The human sacrifice is a way for the believer to communicate with the Evil God, and the Evil God will take control of the believer, using methods like name-calling, hair swallowing, bone offering, eye penetration, etc." This was well researched! Zhou Xuan asked, "Why does the Evil God control the believers? And how are things like name-calling and hair swallowing done?"