Chapter 24 – A First-Rate Rich Young Master 

Editor: kllua, musk

Proofreader: waterlemon

Even without approaching the body, the scent of blood was noticeable. Da Tou drove the surrounding people away and as they approached the body, they almost vomited.

Song Ying was partially naked. However, at this moment, it did not make any difference whether she was wearing clothes or not, as entire expanse of skin on her back had been torn off. That was not all—a couple of her fingers were missing their joints while others were broken and covered with numerous tooth marks.

There was also a blissful and satisfied smile on her face, which was unspeakably strange given the context.

When “Xiao Jie” wanted blood, she gave it blood. When “Xiao Jie” wanted skin, she gave it skin.

Huo ZhenYe turned his head and took a deep breath. Looking up, he saw around ten yellow siskins staring at him. He explained, “I am not chickening out.”

It was just that he could not stand such a blow at once.

The yellow siskins shot him an unfathomable look before neatly turning their heads away.

In the end, Da Tou requested several of the onlookers to head to the city and report the case, for he had to guard the scene with Huo ZhenYe. At this point in time, he still could not figure out how Young Master Huo had known where Mrs. Song was.

As he pondered over that, he surveyed the scene. After a while, he asked Huo ZhenYe, “Young Master Huo, why are there so many child’s footprints around Mrs. Song?”

The footprints were light and shallow and would easily escape one’s notice if one did not meticulously scour the area.

Da Tou gazed at them for a long time before pointing to one of the slightly more vivid footprints. “I think I have seen this before somewhere.”

Huo ZhenYe recognized it at first glance. The shoeprint was an identical match to the sole of the handmade Italian leather shoe they had found at Hongkou warehouse.

Da Tou swallowed. Such a thing reminded him of the creepy reports printed in the newspapers.

“Young Master Huo, who do you think killed Mrs. Song?” It was getting dark, the surrounding fields were farmlands and Song Ying’s car had been left by the Pujiang River. Had someone tricked her into coming here before killing her? If so, how then would one explain the child’s footprints?

Da Tou could not understand. He rapped his head with his knuckles and looked at Huo ZhenYe.

In response, Huo ZhenYe pulled out a cigarette from his cigarette case and leaned against the car. This was the first time Da Tou had seen him this passive. In previous cases, he would always have something to say.

While he remained silent, Huo ZhenYe thought to himself: Will this piece of skin be enough?

As soon as the precinct forensic examiner took over, Huo ZhenYe turned and left. There were some policemen who wanted to ask how he had found Mrs. Song’s whereabouts, but he had driven away before they could corner him.

“Da Tou, how did the two of you find her?”

Da Tou shook his head. “I do not know either. Whoever wants to know can try asking Mr. Huo, but I doubt he will say anything.”

Several of the policemen exchanged glances. Given Young Master Huo’s temperament, asking would be no more than a futile endeavour. After all, he was only close to Da Tou in the precinct.

When Huo ZhenYe arrived at YuQing from the suburbs, it was almost dark.

Usually, at this point in time, all the households would be cooking dinner in the alleyways with coal briquette stoves. Children would also be running around and tasting different dishes made by people they were familiar with.

A next-door neighbour would be cooking taro in shallot oil, and a neighbour downstairs would be frying ribbonfish. The various households in the area would all share their dishes with one another.

However, at this moment, there were only adults cooking in the alley—the children had been locked up in their houses. When they stuck their heads out through the window, they were scolded by their mothers. “Xiao Yan, close the window quickly.”

Xiao Yan closed the window. She wiped the window glass with her sleeve and looked at the Bai house anxiously. She had promised Ah Xiu yesterday that she would kick shuttlecock together with her today.

Meanwhile, the neighbours were well informed and knew that Huo ZhenYe was working as a consultant in the precinct. So, when he returned, they surrounded him and asked, “Mr. Huo, has the case been solved?”

“Not yet but we are almost there.”

“I heard that the person kidnaps only boys. Is that true?” The households with boys had been feeling terribly anxious.

Huo ZhenYe smiled slightly and nodded. He walked sideways through the coal briquette stoves and to Bai Zhun’s door. Only after he had checked that he did not carry the scent of the smoke from the burning coal briquettes did he knock on the door.

The interior of the house was brightly lit. Bai Zhun was sitting in the courtyard with an incense table in front of him that bore an offering of flowers and fruits.

Huo ZhenYe walked up to Bai Zhun’s wheelchair. Last night, Bai Zhun had aided him in finding Xiao Kai’s soul, and tonight he was setting up an incense table to find the paper ghost. Huo ZhenYe was afraid that Bai Zhun’s body would not be able to take it.

Bai Zhun gave him a glance. “Seeing that it kills people one after another, it is quite ferocious. If it is not caught quickly enough, it may really don human skin.”

As the master of the seventh door, Bai Zhun should be the one responsible for it.

Faced with such a situation, Huo ZhenYe could only feel helpless. After all, the knowledge that he had could not help Bai Zhun in any way.

After speaking, Bai Zhun took out three incense sticks from the incense canister. Lighting them, he said to Huo ZhenYe, “Go and bring Erlang Sheng over.”

Since Huo ZhenYe was here, he might as well find something for him to do.

Since Erlang Sheng was a god, he was constructed to be much larger than normal people and looked more like a deity statue found in a temple. However, as he was made of paper and bamboo, the doll was not very heavy. Since Huo ZhenYe possessed great strength, he was able to carry it over alone.

He moved Erlang Shen to the courtyard. Feeling curious, he then asked, “Why are you not using Impermanence this time?”

“Lord Impermanence is in charge of the ghosts and undead. We still don’t know if that thing is a ghost or not.” It might be a spirit born from resentment and obsessive love. However, no matter what it is, as long as it is evil, it will not be able to escape from his Eye of Heaven¹ “天眼” (tian yan) refers to the third-eye on Erlang Sheng’s forehead that is all-seeing. It does not have a fixed name and some called it “The Eye of Heaven”..”

The greater the invited deity was, the more energy it would require.

Although the craftsman was the one who gave the paper spirit shape, it was actually Song Ying who made it “god”. It killed three people in a row before finally killing Song Ying. Having gotten rid of the shackles its creator imposed, it was undetermined what it would do next.

Bai Zhun respectfully lit the incense before pulling out red ink. Staining the brush with it, he painted the eyes of Erlang Sheng.

After that, he knelt down in front of the paper doll and lit it. Although the paper and bamboo were clearly burning, not a sound was heard. Before it burned out, Erlang Shen appeared amongst strong winds.

With paper as an offering, Bai Zhun sought to borrow a small amount of Erlang Sheng’s divine power to catch the evil spirit.

As gusts of wind swept across the courtyard, Erlang Sheng’s Eye of Heaven suddenly radiated a golden light before it disappeared into the night.

Here, Ah Xiu brought over an earthen jar. Bai Zhun placed the jar in the center of the array and wrote a talisman before pasting it on the jar.

At this moment, the colour of Bai Zhun’s lips had already become paler than before. Huo ZhenYe supported him by the shoulder and placed a feather cushion behind him. “Can this be learnt?”

Bai Zhun gave him a weary look. “What?”

Bai Zhun was taught by a master. In a few years, he should also find himself a disciple so that the seventh door could be passed down.

However, children were annoying and their personalities had not yet taken shape. They were also unable to distinguish good and evil. Bai Zhun could already feel his bones aching at the thought of taking a child as an apprentice in the future and having to watch over them closely to prevent them from going astray..

“Then… do you think I can learn?” Saying that, Huo ZhenYe took out a piece of milk chocolate, peeled off the silver foil and held it in front of Bai Zhun’s mouth.

Although it looked black, it smelled very sweet. Bai Zhun frowned and sniffed it suspiciously, “I don’t eat coffee cubes.”

Huo ZhenYe smiled. “This is called chocolate. After eating it, you will feel warm and revitalized.” At this point in time, Bai Zhun’s hands and feet were beginning to feel cold.

Bai Zhun stretched out the tip of his tongue and licked it. As Huo ZhenYe did not expect him to do that, his fingers tightened their grip. However, Bai Zhun had already taken a bite. For now, Bai Zhun did not feel the warmth and revitalizing effect that Huo ZhenYe had mentioned, but there was sweetness amongst the bitterness, giving it a rich flavor.

Extremely satisfied, Bai Zhun thought that such items could be kept around at home.

“I am being serious. Can I learn?” Huo ZhenYe continued to ask. He wanted to at least provide some help.

“What can you do? Your knife won’t even be able to split the bamboo.” When one got old, their fingers would become stiff. It was only when a person was taught from young that their hands would work the way they wanted it to when they grew up.

Huo ZhenYe smiled. “I can carve and draw. Whether it is Chinese or Western art, I can do it.”

Bai Zhun was slightly surprised. He did not expect that the rich young master would know so much.

A corner of Huo ZhenYe’s mouth lifted. “Can I be a rich young master if I do not know the four arts — lute-playing, chess, calligraphy, and painting² “琴棋书画” can be translated into “lute-playing, chess, calligraphy, and painting”. However, it should be noted that it also refers to the four arts (四藝), four main academic and artistic talents required of the aristocratic ancient Chinese scholar-gentleman.? If the only things I knew were how to hunt and play around, I would be called a wastrel.”

When Huo ZhenYe went abroad, he first studied western medicine before studying western art. Meanwhile, traditional Chinese art was something he learnt at home. At that time, Madam Huo had hoped for him to be smart enough to beat the son of his fourth aunt. Even so, his ambitions ultimately could not be greater than that of his elder brother.

Out of all the four arts he had studied, his favorite was painting. The more he got into it, the happier the old madam became.

After all, foreigners’ art techniques were different from traditional Chinese ones. Realism focused on the combination of colour and shadow. Huo ZhenYe felt that his artworks were pretty good.

Ah, he had really gotten ahead of himself.

Bai Zhun glanced at him and asked Ah Xiu to take out the paper. “Do one for me. I will take a look.”

Huo ZhenYe went to the kitchen and burned himself a stick of charcoal. Bai Zhun had many bamboo splints here. He could wrap the charcoal with it and use it as a pencil.

On the white paper, Huo ZhenYe started drawing and smearing.

Meanwhile, while Bai Zhun could see through the eyes of the yellow siskin, he could not do so with the eyes of Erlang Sheng. He could only see the rate at which the incense sticks burned speeding up.

With a pop and a spark, the incense sticks were extinguished. The last part of the incense had not even been burned.

A serious expression appeared on Bai Zhun’s face. That person was really interfering with him. Snorting coldly, he moved two fingers slightly and took out another incense stick. Lighting up the yellow paper, he placed it in the furnace.

“Where is your chocolate? Give me another piece.” He had not felt it before, but it really had warmed and refreshed him.

Bai Zhun ate the whole piece.

When the second incense stick was about to finish burning, the pale golden shadow of Erlang Sheng appeared in the array. In his bare hands was a mass of grey shadows that were stuffed into the jar.

The clay jar was fired in a kiln with cinnabar. The gray shadows were sucked into it, causing gusts of wind. Eventually, the jar shook left and right, making thumping sounds. It still wanted to escape.

With a point of Bai Zhun’s finger, the talisman paper on the clay jar flew up. With a “pa” sound, it sealed the jar.

Erlang Sheng then scattered, turning into faint gold specks that dissipated into the air.

The pile of paper ashes on the ground was also blown away by the wind, causing the lingering warmth to disappear.

Huo ZhenYe was an audience to the entirety of this process. When he saw the jar stop shaking, a layer of goosebumps rose on his skin. He asked Bai Zhun, “What are you going to do with this thing?”

“Put it in the attic.”

While he was saying that, Ah Xiu was already carrying the jar to the attic. For a spirit like this, being sealed with a cinnabar charm could turn it into pure qi that would dissipate by itself after forty-nine days.

At that time, he would just have to put the jar into the furnace and burn it. Soil and grit would become soil and grit in the end.

Huo ZhenYe recalled himself going to the attic to bring down the bamboo bed. After getting the wooden bed, he even moved the bamboo bed up again. The small attic was dusty, and a pile of jars was stacked against the wall. He had originally thought that this was where Bai Zhun put miscellaneous items.

“Are those jars upstairs also the same as this one?”

“Only the sealed ones.”

“Forty-nine days have not passed for those yet?” Huo ZhenYe felt a little numb. The thought of those jars being full of things like Jin DanGui and the fact that they were kept right here in the house made him realize that Bai Zhun possessed extraordinary courage.

“It has passed for some of them.” Bai Zhun held his head up and thought for a while. “I am just too lazy to burn them.”

For a moment, Huo ZhenYe was left speechless, not knowing what to say. He eventually sighed, “When you feel more energized, pick those jars out. I will burn them.”

After all, they could not always remain in the attic.

Saying that, Huo ZhenYe presented his artwork to Bai Zhun. As time was too tight, he had not managed to finish it.

On a piece of inch-wide square white paper, there were only three colors: black, white, and gray.

The artwork depicted a black dragon in the clouds. It was only an outline without details, but it captured the essence of a dragon diving through a sea of clouds.

Bai Zhun’s gaze fell on the dragon’s eyes.

Huo ZhenYe tilted his head, trying to discern Bai Zhun’s expression. He smiled. “How is it? Will you accept a disciple like me?”

How could Bai Zhun allow Huo ZhenYe to be arrogant? Putting aside the paper, he closed his eyes. “The drawing is pretty good. You can be an apprentice for the time being. I still have to see if you have the inclination for it.”

Bai Zhun then returned back to bed and closed his eyes. Where had that human skin gone?

Translator’s Notes:

Hi, apologies for the long wait. I have been swamped with various things such as getting covid, preparing for graduation and going on the tedious process of job searching. Although I cannot promise a regular update schedule yet, do be assured that I have the intention to finish this novel. Thanks for your understanding and I hope that everything is going well for all of you.

• 1
  “天眼” (tian yan) refers to the third-eye on Erlang Sheng’s forehead that is all-seeing. It does not have a fixed name and some called it “The Eye of Heaven”.
• 2
  “琴棋书画” can be translated into “lute-playing, chess, calligraphy, and painting”. However, it should be noted that it also refers to the four arts (四藝), four main academic and artistic talents required of the aristocratic ancient Chinese scholar-gentleman.