Chapter 50: Spirit and Ghost Techniques

Seeing that the two of them were safe, Liu Xiaolou felt much more at ease. He smiled, saying, “My disciples were in trouble. As their sect leader, how could I not come?” Lord Xingde rolled his eyes. “Disciples? Come on. If we're being technical, I’m the Grand Elder!” After the joke, Liu Xiaolou briefly explained the situation outside. Then he added, “The Zhou clan has sealed off the mountain and launched a massive search. On top of that, Qingyu Sect sent some of their top experts to lead the operation. These two clowns happened to have ulterior motives, so I just followed them in. Honestly, if they hadn’t been throwing their weight around with their Tianmu Mountain credentials, I wouldn’t have been able to get inside.” The tomb chamber was dim, and it was only now that Zhou Qiniang got a clear look at the man on the ground. She let out a soft gasp. “Second Young Master Lu!” “Someone from the Lu family?” asked Lord Xingde. Zhou Qiniang replied, “Lu Yuanlang. His older brother’s third among the inner disciples of Tianmu Mountain. He used to visit my family at Dongting Lake quite a bit.” Lord Xingde frowned. “That guy… what was he doing at your place?” Zhou Qiniang gave him a glare. “He’s got a thing for Jiuniang. Every time she came to visit, the moment he heard, he’d rush over.” Lord Xingde let out a breath. “Figures. Not exactly someone decent. Su Jiuniang? He thinks he’s worthy?” Liu Xiaolou quickly changed the subject and asked what their plan was. XLord Xingde said, “This place is well hidden. Qiniang and I plan to stay here for a while. Once they can’t find us, they’ll give up and leave.” Liu Xiaolou shook his head. “Do you know why the Zhou family and Qingyu Sect chased you all the way to Taoyuan? I overheard Second Lu and that steward Zhang talking. Apparently, Qingyu Sect has some kind of spirit-tracking technique…” Before she could finish her sentence, Zhou Qiniang suddenly let out an “Ah!” and began frantically pulling off all her jewelry. Pins from her hair, necklaces, bracelets, everything. She opened a box from her bundle and started dumping things out while muttering to herself, full of regret: “It’s all my fault, all my fault... I didn’t even think of this... Where is it... which one is it in...?” As she searched in a panic, she looked like she was about to cry. “Don’t worry, Auntie Qi,” Liu Xiaolou said. "That technique only gives a rough sense of direction. If it were more precise, they would’ve found this place long ago. And I’m guessing this tomb is deep enough to interfere with the tracking a bit. We should be safe for now. Senior, the Qingyu Sect has a technique called Spirit-Ghost Tracking. They must’ve hidden something on one of Auntie Qi’s belongings...” After that brief explanation, Lord Xingde understood immediately. “What kind of thing? How do they plant it?” Zhou Qiniang said, “It’s a kind of ghostly phantom. Help me check with your true qi...” Liu Xiaolou joined in, and the two of them carefully examined all the jewelry, but found nothing unusual. Liu Xiaolou glanced at Zhou Qiniang, then motioned to Lord Xingde. “Senior…” Lord Xingde slapped his forehead. “The clothes!” Zhou Qiniang pointed toward the exit. “You two, out.” Lord Xingde and Liu Xiaolou stepped out into the passageway and waited. A moment later, Zhou Qiniang’s voice came from inside: “Damn it!” Lord Xingde charged in first. Liu Xiaolou rushed after him, but Lord Xingde shoved him back. “You stay out!” “Ah...” Liu Xiaolou suddenly realized and could only continue waiting outside. Just as he was starting to get anxious, Lord Xingde finally came out and said, “All done.” Back in the tomb chamber, Lord Xingde shook his head. “Unbelievable. It was in your underclothes... That maid of yours, Ping’er. It had to be her. I told you from the start she couldn’t be trusted!” Zhou Qiniang’s face turned bright red. “What are you talking about?!” “Am I wrong?” Lord Xingde snapped. “All those years, we were never found. And then, less than a year after that girl starts working for you, we get discovered?” Zhou Qiniang stomped her foot. “It’s not—” Liu Xiaolou cut them off, “Alright, alright, let’s not argue about this now. What matters is we found it. Toss it into the coffin, and getting out of here should be much easier.” “That still won’t work. Xiaolou,” said Zhou Qiniang, “didn’t you say just now that people from Qingyu Sect are out there too? If we go out now, they might use that shape absorbing technique.” Liu Xiaolou nodded. “They already did. And they even summoned a mountain god.” Lord Xingde looked completely baffled again. ““I know about the mountain god’s manifestation, but what’s this shape absorbing technique?” Zhou Qiniang launched into another round of explanations. Lord Xingde groaned in frustration. “Your Qingyu Sect really has all kinds of sneaky tricks... So what are we supposed to do now?” Liu Xiaolou sighed, exasperated. “Seriously, Senior, Auntie Qi, I thought you two spent three months planning this. You didn’t figure any of this out and just ran off? Never mind. I’ve already got a solution. That steward Zhang has a jade token that hides shapes. As long as we stay out of sight of that manifested mountain god up on the hilltop, we’ll be fine.” Liu Xiaolou took the jade token from Steward Zhang and then grabbed the Lu family command token from Second Young Master Lu’s waist. He urged Lord Xingde and Zhou Qiniang to change clothes. Xing Dejun put on Steward Zhang’s robes, while Zhou Qiniang yanked off Lu’s long outer robe and threw it over herself. She undid her hair, restyled it quickly, and did a rough job of changing her appearance. It still didn’t look quite right, but since it was nighttime, it shouldn’t be too big a problem. They searched Steward Zhang and found three spirit stones and a handful of silver, twenty or thirty taels in scattered coins. Second Young Master Lu, on the other hand, didn’t have a single coin on him. Liu Xiaolou gave him a look of pure contempt, then undid their mute acupoints and questioned them on the spot. “So? Where’s the rest of the spirit stones and silver buried?” Second Young Master Lu looked like he was about to cry. “I never carry spirit stones or silver on me when I travel! But I’ve got plenty back home. Brother Liu, just spare my life; I’ll go back to the mountain and get it for you. I swear, 20 spirit stones! No, 30! And 5000 taels of silver!” Steward Zhang, on the other hand, was far more defiant. He just spat curses at Liu Xiaolou, calling him a thief and swearing he’d get revenge one day. Liu Xiaolou slapped him across the face several times until his mouth was full of blood and broken teeth, his curses turning into unintelligible mumbling. Disappointed, but not wanting to waste more time, Liu Xiaolou gave up for now. Zhou Qiniang hesitated, glancing at Second Young Master Lu. She looked to Lord Xingde. “We’re just leaving them here?” Lord Xingde could see she was starting to soften. “We can’t let them go now... Maybe in a day or two, your people will find this place.” Zhou Qiniang let out a long sigh, then followed Lord Xingde out. Liu Xiaolou stayed behind, lifted both Second Young Master Lu and Steward Zhang, and tossed them into the coffin. Then he pressed a finger to a vital acupoint on each of them. The two men stared wide-eyed at him, unable to make a sound. Slowly, the light in their eyes faded, going dull like dead fish. Liu Xiaolou didn’t spare them another glance. He closed the coffin lid and left the tomb. It was the darkest hour just before dawn. The jade token gave off a faint magical glow, nullifying the effects of the shape absorbing technique and shielding the three of them as they made their way out of the valley. They couldn’t take the main path; they’d be recognized there, especially by anyone familiar with Second Young Master Lu. So the three of them took a narrow side trail, keeping their eyes on the massive manifested mountain god overhead and carefully moving through the blind spots of its gaze. Lord Xingde knew the mountain paths even better than Liu Xiaolou. Without even realizing it, they had circled around through a small trail in the northwest and slipped out of the Taoyuan mountain range. The Lu family token didn’t even come into play; they had already broken through the joint blockade of the Qingyu Sect and the Zhou clan. Lord Xingde and Zhou Qiniang planned to flee to the Bashu region, far from Jing and Xiang. It was outside Qingyu Sect’s reach. A perfect place to disappear. Liu Xiaolou handed over the three spirit stones, the silver, and a slip of yellow talisman paper he had found. “You’ve got thousands of li ahead of you. One extra spirit stone, one extra tael of silver could make all the difference. Oh, and this is a secret technique from my Sanxuan Sect. Please make sure to cultivate it; it’s good for your health.” Lord Xingde didn’t stand on ceremony. “Then I’ll gladly take it.” They waved goodbye. Liu Xiaolou stood and watched their figures vanish into the fading night, a quiet joy suddenly welling up inside him, along with an indescribable sense of relief. ...  Read Ahead On Patreon :) /3ZTEE