Chapter 31: Visiting the Old Master

"Singing for ghosts?" Li Huo's heart instantly sank. The name itself suggested nothing good.

"Actually, it's nothing major. We just need to go to the ancestral hall and perform for the ancestral tablets."

"If it's nothing major, why isn't Master Lu doing this business himself?" Li Huo immediately retorted, knowing it couldn't be that simple.

"Oh, come on now. You see, this is my first time doing this, and I'm a bit nervous, aren't I? So I was hoping to invite an expert like you to be present, so we can feel at ease doing this business."

"Master Lu, I really can't help with this." Usually, he'd avoid such things at all costs; why would he actively seek trouble now?

Although it was possible nothing would happen, he wasn't willing to gamble.

He and Scholar Lu were merely traveling companions; it wasn't worth risking his life to help him.

If Scholar Lu genuinely refused to continue as a guide because of this, they could simply part ways. He could always ask for directions in the village; with so many people, surely someone would know the way.

"Hey, hey, hey, little Daoist priest, don't be so quick to refuse! I haven't finished explaining. How about we split the earnings from this performance fifty-fifty?"

As soon as money was mentioned, Scholar Lu gesticulated wildly. "I didn't want to take it at first, but this isn't a small sum! Master Hu was incredibly generous! He gave a full ten taels of refined silver!"

"One tael of silver is a thousand copper coins, so ten taels of refined silver is ten thousand copper coins! My little Daoist priest! Ten taels of silver! Even if you want to cultivate Dao to become an immortal, you still need to eat before you achieve immortality, right?"

Li Huo paused abruptly. He looked at the two bags of dried sweet potatoes beside him; he genuinely needed money now.

And it wasn't just for food. When they reached Jianye Town, he could expect to spend a considerable amount of money there as well. In any world inhabited by people, money was essential; without it, one couldn't move an inch.

"Little Daoist priest, please, I'm begging you, okay? If that's still not good enough, how about you take six and I take four? It's not easy to earn this much money these days!" Scholar Lu pleaded with a mournful expression, circling Li Huo and continuing to persuade him.

If the expert didn't come, he truly wouldn't dare take the job. After all, what good was a lot of money if you weren't alive to spend it?

Li Huo suddenly turned his head to Scholar Lu. "Is there a blacksmith in this village?"

"Huh?"

Led by Scholar Lu, Li Huo was brought to the only blacksmith shop in Wuligang.

"What do you want forged?" the burly, shirtless blacksmith with a beard asked gruffly, eyeing Li Huo's Daoist robe.

"Not ironware. I need something repaired that can't be hammered or melted. Can you restore this?" Li Huo asked, pulling out the bronze bell.

If it could be fixed and he could summon Master You, then perhaps he could genuinely take the money. Otherwise, the money would be too hot to handle.

"Can't be hammered or melted? What a strange request." The blacksmith reached out, took the bronze bell, swayed it a few times, then pulled out two iron tongs. "Come on, lend a hand."

The long tongs easily reached into the sunken sides of the bronze bell. The two men gritted their teeth and pulled with all their might, but the bell didn't budge. This result was both unsurprising and expected.

"Huh! That's strange, what kind of bronze is this made of? Why is it so hard?" The curious blacksmith bent his knuckles, about to tap it, but Li Huo stopped him.

Looking at the two tongs clamped onto the bell's wall, Li Huo thought for a moment, then poured a pill from a palm-sized gourd at his waist and put it into his mouth.

This was a pill Dan Yangzi had given him. He had taken one to save Yang Na in the mental hospital, another when he killed Dan Yangzi, and now he was taking another, leaving him with only two left.

A "buzz" echoed as a surge of heat instantly erupted from his Dantian acupoint, coursing through Li Huo's entire body.

He took a deep breath, gripped one of the tongs with one hand, and pulled hard.

"Even two people couldn't open it, and you think you can—" The blacksmith's words were cut short as a creaking sound filled the air. The dented bronze bell had surprisingly and steadily expanded.

As the blacksmith's mouth hung wide open, the bronze bell returned to its original shape.

"Heh, that's nothing! I'm telling you, the little Daoist priest has profound cultivation," Scholar Lu boasted proudly to the blacksmith, as if in his mind, Li Huo was omnipotent and nothing he did was surprising.

Li Huo left the village and returned alone to the forest outside.

Looking at the bronze bell in his hand, he shook it with a hint of anticipation.

As the bell rang, the dizzying sensation of the world spinning immediately returned. This time, Li Huo didn't stop; instead, he gritted his teeth and shook it harder.

He felt everything around him spinning. The lines of the branches twisted, detaching from their original positions, gradually beginning to coalesce.

"It's working!" Li Huo's heart was pounding rapidly.

Accompanied by the jarring ringing, the long-unseen Master You reappeared before him, though this time there was only one.

Master You appeared as a high-frequency trembling mass, formed by twisting and splicing various lines, with an entirely amorphous body.

Li Huo couldn't stare for too long; he felt that if he did, he might make it dissipate.

Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered something. He bent down, dug up a piece of wet mud from the ground, and put it into his mouth.

The taste of the mud was unpleasant, but he forced himself to speak. He tried to ask Master You if he could understand what he was saying, but the sound, distorted by the strange environment, became an extremely bizarre melody.

Regardless of what Li Huo said, Master You actually responded.

This sent Li Huo into ecstatic delight. With Master You's help, his power would greatly increase!

Leaning forward, Li Huo asked the most crucial question.

Master You remained still, calm and unhurried, responding slowly but firmly.

Li Huo's brow gradually furrowed.

Master You repeated the phrase.

When he saw Master You repeat the previous phrase, Li Huo sighed inwardly. As expected, nothing came for free; there was a price to pay for commanding Master You.

And that price was nothing less than a person's lifespan: three months of life for each summoning.

When Li Huo asked again if Dan Yangzi had made a similar exchange, Master You fell silent.

The ringing gradually ceased. Li Huo clutched his throbbing head, rested for a while, and then returned to Wuligang.

"Little Daoist priest, your..." Scholar Lu looked at his mouth full of mud, hesitating to speak.

"I accept the business deal you just told me about," Li Huo said, gripping the bronze bell in his hand.

"Oh! That's wonderful! I'll go tell Master Hu right away!" Scholar Lu was overjoyed to hear this.