Chapter 23 - The Secret of Bixi

Chen Shaoxian suddenly realized the true intention behind the perpetrator’s actions and urgently explained to the two men, “At first, I thought this person just wanted to release the nightmare and use the souls of these people as nourishment for it. But when I recalled those fifty lamps, I realized I was wrong. This person aims to gather the Seven Spirits and with them, the life soul, using the fifty lamps to manifest the heaven and earth souls, making the nightmare the host.” Chen Shaoxian paused, then looked at the two beside him and added, “If I’m not mistaken, this person is trying to create an Immortal.”

The Liu father and son were both startled. Liu Iron Mouth thought carefully and said, “Shaoxian, your guess is correct. Without this grand formation suppressing it, that nightmare would have become an Immortal long ago. The person behind this is simply using it as a vessel to create life.”

Liu Baodong, puzzled, asked Liu Iron Mouth, “Are there really Immortals in this world?”

Liu Iron Mouth smiled at his son and explained, “I heard it from Grandpa Chen. The so-called Immortals are just phenomena and substances that people couldn’t explain back in the day. If this nightmare existed in ancient times, people would have worshipped it as a deity because they couldn’t explain, much less control or eradicate such entities. As humanity progressed, we developed methods to control and eliminate these things, which the ancients called Sorcery.

Over time, those who controlled these entities were also revered as Immortals and gradually became mythologized. Rulers before the Shang Dynasty used this method of making gods to govern their people. However, by the end of the Shang Dynasty, with King Wu’s Campaign against King Zhou, many sorcerers joined the war, and many died, causing much of the sorcery knowledge to be lost.”

After finishing, Liu Iron Mouth patted Liu Baodong’s shoulder and then said to Chen Shaoxian, “Shaoxian, the person behind this is no ordinary individual, be extra cautious during this period. When your grandfather returns, discuss these matters with him, perhaps he can make sense of it all.”

Chen Shaoxian quickly nodded and replied, “Don’t worry, Grandpa Liu, I’ll be careful. By the way, there was such a commotion that day, how was it settled?”

“That was all thanks to Xiao Zhuang and Han Yi. I don’t know the details, but after we took you to the hospital that day, Xiao Zhuang left. When he came to visit you in the afternoon, he told me that the situation at Qianniao Garden had been resolved,” answered Liu Baodong.

At that moment, Liu Baodong’s wife invited the three of them out to dine, so they stopped their conversation and together left the study to head to the dining room.

The Liu Family had intentionally seated Chen Shaoxian and Zheng Ruirui together, and it was only then that Zheng Ruirui noticed Chen Shaoxian was left-handed-a detail she hadn’t picked up on during their last meal together.

The family chatted and laughed joyously throughout the meal. After finishing, Chen Shaoxian stayed for a while longer before deciding to head home. Before leaving, Liu Baodong handed Chen Shaoxian a bag, which Chen knew contained items that had been on him that day. He then bid farewell to the Liu Family.

Chen Shaoxian and Zheng Ruirui descended the stairs; the Liu family had teased them quite a bit during dinner, and now left alone, both felt somewhat awkward, walking all the way to the ground floor without speaking.

As they approached the building’s exit, Zheng Ruirui glanced at Chen Shaoxian and thought to herself: “He’s usually so talkative, why is he as quiet as a clam now? If this goes on, we’ll lose the chance to talk.” Just as she was about to speak, Chen Shaoxian said, “It’s getting late, let me take you home.”

Zheng Ruirui felt a flash of annoyance upon hearing this; she knew what Chen Shaoxian meant by “taking you home”-which was merely to hail a cab for her, give the driver the address, drop some money, and leave, just as he had done before.

Zheng Ruirui responded somewhat irritably, “I drove here, so if anyone should be doing the driving, it’s me.”

Actually, Zheng Ruirui had misunderstood Chen Shaoxian. Having heard from Liu Baodong about how Zheng had taken care of him while he was unconscious, Chen genuinely felt indebted and wanted to escort her home. Hearing Zheng’s response, Chen scratched his head and said, “That’s not necessary, I can get back on my own. It’s late, and you should be careful driving. Give me a call when you get home.”

Zheng, initially irritated at being refused, felt her anger mount, but upon hearing his reason-concern for her safety if she were to drive alone late at night-she didn’t push further. Despite her initial regret, she felt a change of heart, thinking, “At least you’re showing some conscience, after taking care of you these past few days wasn’t in vain.”

Zheng Ruirui suddenly remembered what she wanted to say, feeling somewhat nervous for fear that Chen Shaoxian would refuse her. Clenching her fists tightly, she stared at Chen Shaoxian and softly asked, “My birthday is the day after tomorrow, can you come?”

Chen Shaoxian was slightly taken aback. He had been planning to attend to his own matters these past few days and was about to decline. However, seeing Zheng Ruirui’s anxious expression and hopeful eyes, he blurted out, “Yes, I’ll be there the day after tomorrow.”

Hearing Chen Shaoxian’s agreement, Zheng Ruirui’s tension eased, and she felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. As if afraid that Chen Shaoxian might change his mind, she quickly said, “See you the day after tomorrow,” hurried into her car, and drove home.

Upon returning home, Chen Shaoxian first emptied his bag to ensure the ocular mirror was undamaged, which relieved him.

After securely storing the ocular mirror, he took a shower, lit a cigarette afterward, and picked up the copper bixi he had found at the bottom of the cave to examine closely.

The craftsmanship of the bixi was exquisitely lifelike, but it was not adorned with Bagua or Taiji, rather it bore ancient luo script. It appeared that the bixi had been around for quite some time.

Chen Shaoxian ran his fingers over the texture of the bixi and suddenly noticed a loose protrusion under its neck. He pried it with some force. The bixi made a slight noise, and the ancient luo script on its belly cracked open, revealing a golden ring inside. Chen Shaoxian chuckled to himself, murmuring, “Even treasures can be stumbled upon.”

Chen Shaoxian took out the ring and carefully observed it in his palm. The ring was thick and heavy, with cloud patterns engraved on the outer band, while the inner band was large and had many granular protrusions, half rounded and half flat, combining to form distinct edges. His curiosity was instantly piqued.

Chen Shaoxian, sizing up the ring against his fingers, first eliminated the thumb, then the pinky, and after comparing back and forth, found the ring finger most suitable.

Not one to make foolish mistakes, Chen Shaoxian didn’t attempt to wear it from the flat end. He slid it on his left ring finger from the other end and, to his amazement, found that the little granules retracted into the ring when he put it on. Once the ring was properly fitted, these granules protruded again.

“Wow, I’ve really struck gold here. If I sold this, I could make a fortune, haha.”

Chen Shaoxian was admiring the ring, delighted with his find. However, his joy soon turned to sorrow when he tried to remove the ring and found, to his dismay, that it wouldn’t come off.

The protrusions had gripped his finger tightly. Pulling it forcefully might tear off skin and flesh together; brute force was not an option.

Even after applying a thick layer of soap, the ring wouldn’t budge. Chen Shaoxian had tried everything short of cutting off his finger, yet the ring remained firmly on his ring finger.

Sitting on the edge of his bed and smoking a cigarette, Chen Shaoxian pondered why the ring wouldn’t come off. He picked up the Bixi from the bed and examined it closely. The Bixi had a slit in its belly with a slot for the ring that could move up and down but always returned to its original position.

Chen Shaoxian tried to restore the split part of the Bixi, but no matter how much he manipulated it, it wouldn’t budge. Scratching his head, he noticed that after the Bixi had split, its tail was sticking to its back, forming an oval shape at the original position of the tail.

Feeling he was onto something, he placed his hand at the tail’s original position and inserted the ring into the slot. Pushing down, he heard a crack from the back of the Bixi. Using his right hand, he pressed the split part back into place, and with a click, the Bixi’s belly closed up. He withdrew his finger, and with another crack, the tail snapped back into place. Chen Shaoxian’s ring finger was now free.

Chen Shaoxian’s mood instantly improved. After testing it a few more times, he finally stopped. Suddenly remembering that Zheng Ruirui was supposed to call him, he quickly turned on his phone and called her. Zheng Ruirui wasn’t angry but just reminded him not to be late the day after tomorrow.