The fault of yin and yang

Chapter 7

"Yes, that was it. We haven't been feeling well lately, so we got together to ask Weiyang to take a look," Duanmu said decisively. Sometimes the simplest way is the most effective way.

"My work isn't going well either. I was inexplicably demoted, and I keep bumping into things while walking. Once, a flowerpot almost hit me. Yufei is just as unlucky. She was robbed a few days ago, scammed half a month ago, and her house was burgled a month ago. She lost two or three hundred thousand yuan. I only found out today that Weiyang isn't doing well either. Her family just had a funeral recently... Sigh, don't even mention it..." Duanmu's mouth is terrifying. He just casually said something that made our family members look terrible and caused Yufei to suffer heavy losses.

"Oh, then, then, what do we do?" This idiot was genuinely terrified. Otherwise, why wouldn't he think about why he had to suffer this punishment now, instead of earlier or later...

"Hmm..." I frowned, looking like I couldn't make a decision.

"Hurry up and tell me, do you want money? I have it," Qian Lizhong said, looking like a nouveau riche who was afraid of dying.

“If someone doesn’t want it, no amount of money can buy back a life; the only way is to ask her what she wants.” I paused, stirred the watermelon juice with the straw, and continued, “You should also remember the old lady who gave us directions and the little white fox we rescued on the way, right? I suspect that the old lady was that fox. We owe her four lives…” I tried my best to make my voice tremble a little, to make it seem like I was also very scared.

"Then, how do we negotiate?" Qian Lizhong's questions were getting closer and closer to the heart of the matter.

"Go find her... go to that mountain again!"

"What? I'm not going. I barely made it back alive, I don't want to go back to die again." Qian Lizhong's cowardly appearance was quite reminiscent of his former self.

"Okay, we'll go this Sunday. Give us a call if you want to go." Duanmu was quite disgusted with Qian Lizhong's behavior, so after hearing what he said, she handed him a piece of paper with our phone number written on it, and then pulled me and Yufei away...

Before leaving, I pinched Yufei hard. So the scene of Yufei looking at Qian Lizhong with teary eyes was incredibly realistic, although it almost made me drown in her spit.

In fact, before Sunday even arrived, Duanmu called me and said that Qian Lizhong said, "In order to protect you girls, I've decided to go with you. I can't let you girls go to such a dangerous place by yourselves..." After he said that, we almost laughed ourselves to death.

After laughing, I remained silent for a long time. Duanmu asked, "What will happen?" All I could answer was six words: "Good people are always blessed."

In fact, after returning, I had already cast a divination for this weekend's "spring outing." Although the divination result was not particularly unusual, it was a very inexplicable one for this kind of thing—Heavenly Thunder Without Delusion.

If that old woman is truly a beast immortal, then she must belong to Yin, but the Heavenly Thunder Without Delusion is a hexagram of Yang within Yang, which is really absurd...

(3) Ghost against the Wall Chapter 12 The Imperial Fox

Everything in the world is nothing but numbers, and reason is found within them.

Good fortune and misfortune have their own opportunities, and blessings and calamities can be foreseen.

The five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—are primarily governed by their generating and restraining relationships.

Please clearly distinguish between the five elements: yellow, red, black, and white.

How can one discern good or bad fortune in others? Only by consulting the mysteries of the universe.

When I saw a Ganoderma lucidum growing on the roof of this house located halfway up the mountain, I suddenly thought of this poem, "Dongxuan Ge"...

"Heavenly Thunder Without Error" travels in the northwest—great fortune. Heaven represents Yang, thunder represents Yang, and "Without Error" represents non-existence.

The hexagram "Heavenly Thunder Without Delusion" puzzled me a bit, but in any case, I still brought something along in accordance with the hexagram, just in case.

Yufei was wearing a gold tracksuit today, a color that perfectly matched the divination, which made me quite relieved for a while. It seems I brought the right things. If I had brought a "ghost-expelling spell" but happened to encounter a god, that would have been a huge disaster. Duanmu was more practical; he wore a full-length windbreaker, his hair pulled back, adding a touch of breezy style. As for Qian Lizhong, this guy was even more practical to the extreme. He wore a windbreaker and carried a large hiking backpack. Seeing his professional gear, I assumed it would contain small shovels, knives, ropes, and the like. But when I opened it, I found about a hundred bags of compressed biscuits, with ten neatly stacked bottles of water underneath…

The original orchard has changed hands countless times, and large nurseries have sprung up all around it. The cemetery that led us into the mountains has long been leveled. At this point, we can't find the original path at all. Besides, we were too busy running away to even think about coming back. Nobody remembers the way. Helpless, I took my compass and headed northwest, hoping to meet a benefactor...

We hadn't walked far, probably past a nursery, when we saw a small hill ahead. The hill had been terraced, and smoke was still rising from a house halfway up it. As we approached the house, Duanmu gently tugged at my sleeve and pointed to the roof. Actually, I saw it too—it was a Ganoderma lucidum (reishi mushroom). Generally, Ganoderma lucidum is just a piece of wood that I can break into pieces, but this one was different. Although not large, the sunlight made it shimmer like it was covered in down, swaying in the wind. After I was absolutely certain it was Ganoderma lucidum, I became even more puzzled. How could a Ganoderma lucidum grow so well under the sun? Besides, the dust on the roof was so barren it would be difficult to even grow a small blade of grass; how could such a beautiful Ganoderma lucidum grow there?

I glanced down at the compass in my hand. There was nothing wrong with it; the needle was still pointing northwest. Putting the compass away, I waved my hand and said, "Let's go in and ask."

"Squeak—" The wooden door opened slowly, but no one was in sight. Qian Lizhong, who was walking in front, broke out in a cold sweat. It was quite a funny sight. I had no choice but to push him aside, squat down, and say, "Little friend, where are your parents?"

The boy who opened the door was about seven or eight years old. Although it was a place like this, the boy was dressed neatly and looked very pleasing.

"Grandpa—" the child called out as he turned around, then ran off...

"Oh, is there something you need?" an elderly man, around sixty years old, asked as he walked over, wiping his hands with a towel.

"Sir, we'd like to ask you something," I replied politely.

The old man was thin and bony. Although he must have been a farmer who worked in the fields all year round, he was not dark-skinned at all. Instead, he had an air of otherworldly elegance.

"Come in, come in. We just boiled some water. Come in and have a cup of tea," the old man said with a smile, inviting us inside.

Upon entering the house, I found it to be much larger than what I had seen from the outside. However, it was sparsely furnished, seemingly just a small earthen house used for guarding the land, but it was very clean.

I decided to enter this house not only because of the Ganoderma lucidum on the roof, but also because of this child. I felt inexplicably close to him when I saw him, and I did not feel any evil aura when I saw the grandfather and grandson. They must be no ordinary people, even if they are not gods.

North is associated with Kan (坎), and west with Dui (兑), both belonging to Yin. Stepping on the most Yang trigrams and heading towards the most Yin direction, it seems we've made the right choice...

"What do you want to ask?" the old man asked as he picked up the kettle from the stove to make tea.

"Grandpa, please don't bother. We'd like to ask you if there's a mountain nearby," Duanmu asked anxiously.

I don't know what kind of tea this old man used, but as soon as he poured water over it, the aroma filled the air, and it was pleasantly fragrant.

"A mountain? There is a mountain, come, have some tea first." The old man handed two cups of tea to Duanmu and Yufei, and the little boy also handed a cup to Qian Lizhong, but not mine.

"There aren't many people here usually, and we don't have enough cups. I'll go find her another bowl," the old man said with a smile as he walked towards the cupboard. Actually, I had a feeling something was off when the grandfather and granddaughter didn't offer me any tea. It seemed like the old man's words weren't meant for me, but rather for Yufei, Duanmu, and Qian Lizhong, as if to let them drink their tea in peace.

"Let me help you," I said, standing up and walking towards the cupboard.

"It's alright, it's alright," the old man muttered, shaking his head at me with a smile.

"Are you alright?" I repeated, bewildered. Just as I finished speaking, I heard a few loud crashes behind me...

Yufei collapsed onto Qian Lizhong, Duanmu lay sprawled on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and Qian Lizhong sprawled out on the floor. And I stood in the center of the room.

"You?" I wasn't too worried. When the old man said "It's alright," I knew he meant no harm.

“Girl, I knew you should be here by now. And thank goodness you came! Thirteen years have passed, and his grandmother is still waiting there,” the old man said, rolling up the little boy’s trouser leg to reveal a jagged scar from a hunting trap. Seeing my questioning look, the old man nodded and said, “Yes, you saved my little grandson back then.” As soon as he finished speaking, the little boy ran to my side, took my hand, and looked at me with a grin.

“His grandmother saved four of your lives on that mountain, which means she has to repay that mountain with the lifespan of all four of you. Although you are not in any immediate danger, it's just that we, grandfather and grandson, suffer from not being able to see his grandmother again.” Before the old man could finish speaking, the little boy started crying, tugging at my trouser leg and saying, “Sister, please save my grandmother, sister!” His tearful pleas seemed to cast a pall of sadness over the entire space. “Yinlang, stop it,” the old man said, walking over and taking the child into his arms.

"It's all because this little grandson is so disobedient, he insisted on coming down to play, and as a result..." The old man sighed and didn't finish his sentence, but I think I know what happened next. Little Yinlang's foot got caught, we rescued him, and his grandmother repaid our kindness, but now she's trapped in those mountains for over three hundred years. If one of us accidentally lives to be two hundred years old, then his grandmother will be trapped for over four hundred years...

At that moment, I was wondering what he meant by "come down." Could they be the legendary "Imperial Spirit Fox" clan?

(III) Chapter Twelve: Returning from the Ghostly Encirclement

The "Imperial Palace Spirit Fox" is a wall immortal atop the Golden Palace Cloud Wall in the Heavenly Palace, responsible for recording the contents of each meeting, and ranks thirty-seventh among the Heavenly Officials.

"I've already sent them all away," the old man said, pointing to Qian Lizhong and the others lying on the ground. "Girl, what you're fighting isn't some ghost or monster, but that mountain." At this moment, Yinlang produced a black iron sword from somewhere. The old man placed the sword in my hand and continued, "This mountain was formed 450 million years ago. It has no roots and no boundaries, it comes from nowhere and goes nowhere. As for why it came to be, even the gods probably can't explain it. You say it's a demon, but the energy this mountain exudes is yang... sigh..." "Then what should I do?" I interrupted the old man because Yufei suddenly moved, which made me a little worried.

“You can’t clear this mountain, nor is it necessary. After all, Yinlang’s grandmother is a celestial being, so she can roam freely in this mountain. You just need to use this sword to find her, and then leave this sword as her substitute, and you can return.”

"A substitute? I didn't bring any talismans." I only brought some talismans for sending off spirits and talismans for warding off evil this time. Because of the ominous sign of the Heavenly Thunder, I didn't even bring any talismans for exorcising ghosts.

"Haha, no need, no need," the old man laughed a few times, shaking his head repeatedly, "His grandma will have a way." Yes, I'd forgotten, she's a celestial being.

I took the tea that Yinlang handed me and drank it all in one gulp.

...

"Weiyang, Zuo Weiyang!" Duanmu kept patting my face. "You're finally awake! You scared us to death!" As she spoke, she plopped down on the ground, wiping away sweat with her hands from time to time.

"We've arrived." Since it wasn't a real fainting spell, there was no discomfort after waking up.

"What? You mean we had a drink... Weiyang, what are you looking for?" I didn't hear Yufei at all. I suddenly thought of that knife, that Xuan Tie Luan Dao. I was counting on it to save my life, but where did the old man send it?

"Weiyang, what are you looking for? Hey, Weiyang, what's this?" Yufei shouted.

"That's it, that's it!" I rushed over and picked up the knife. Yufei, Duanmu, and Qian Lizhong were all looking at the knife with curiosity.

After briefly explaining the situation to them, I prepared to set off.

"Damn it, what kind of place is this? It's like there's no east, west, south, or north!" I cursed as I looked at the compass needle spinning wildly.

"What should we do then? If only I had known..." Qian Lizhong's words were cut off by Yufei's glare.

"Ding...ding..." The iron ring on the sword behind him suddenly rang, but there was no wind at that moment.

"Ah, I understand." I drew my sword with a "whoosh" and raised it to my forehead.

"What do you know? Don't be so alarmed, you're almost thirty." Duanmu was quite displeased that I had suddenly called out to her and then remained silent. She was still waiting for my explanation.

“Didn’t I tell you before? That old man said this mountain has no roots or boundaries. If that’s the case, how can it possibly have a direction? Even if a compass did work, this place is teeming with ghosts and monsters, so it’s probably not very useful. But…” I was getting into my story when Qian Lizhong abruptly interrupted me, “Ghosts and monsters, teeming with ghosts and monsters? We… I’m not afraid of dying, I’m afraid you’re not safe. Besides, I don’t even have a son yet.” “You’re thirty years old, can’t you stop being so cowardly? I really don’t know how someone as afraid of dying as you makes money?”

When money was mentioned, Qian Lizhong suddenly said something that was both philosophical and utterly nonsensical: "You must firmly believe that if money can't generate more money, then you've lost out." Duanmu bluntly replied with a single word: "Pah!"

"You continue, Weiyang, ignore them. They've been like this the whole way, really..." Yufei looked at the two of them helplessly and urged me on.

"The hilt of this knife will guide us to find the old lady; otherwise, I'm afraid we might not find her even if we walk until next year on our own two legs."

"Ah... Ah! Ah, what, ah..." Suddenly, Qian Lizhong involuntarily leaned towards the edge of the cliff, clearly struggling desperately. Yufei and Duanmu were terrified, wanting to grab him but too afraid to move.

"The Southern Dipper and the Northern Buddha, the Tao and its magic are boundless, one character with twenty strokes, can vanquish ten years of demons." Old methods are often the most effective. I chased after him, circled around to the front of Qian Lizhong, and struck him with a palm...

"Zuo Weiyang, couldn't you be a little gentler?" Qian Lizhong rubbed his chest and stood up. Duanmu and Yufei moved over little by little only after seeing that Qian Lizhong was basically normal.

"Kid, if I didn't beat you harder, you would have been meeting the King of Hell long ago."

"Why is it that out of so many people, I'm the only one..." Qian Lizhong muttered to himself as he opened his backpack, took out a few bags of compressed biscuits, and started munching on them.

“Although there are many ghosts and monsters on this mountain, what’s strange is that they all release yang energy. You’re the only man among us, and you have the strongest yang energy, so you’re the most compatible with them. Of course, we chose you. So we absolutely can’t stay here any longer. Let’s go!” I pulled Duanmu and Yufei forward. Qian Lizhong shoved all the biscuits back into his mouth, his mouth full of crumbs, and chased after us.

"Ding... ding ding..." The sound of the jade ring grew louder and faster...

"Oh my, children, it's you!" The old lady seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, walking out from behind a rock, and was right in front of us in an instant.

The old lady was still the same as before, dressed in white, white trousers, and a white hairpin, still holding her white pipe, and her white shoes were spotless. It seemed as if she had only come here to bask in the sun for a few minutes, looking quite relaxed.

"My child, it's fortunate that you have this sword and are a descendant of the Zuo family, otherwise, my old man would have ruined you. Thank goodness." The old lady patted my head and took the sword.

"Ah..." Qian Lizhong screamed in agony. The old woman raised her knife and slashed a palm-sized wound on Qian Lizhong's arm.

"You..." Duanmu was about to step forward and pull Qian Lizhong back.

I reached out to stop Duanmu and said, "For this knife to become a substitute, it must be imbued with blood and a soul. However, the blood of the gods is too spiritually potent, so we must use ours. The three of us are all women, and our nature is yin, while the nature of immortals is yang. Therefore, we can only use Qian Lizhong's blood to imbue it with a soul." "Using the Xuan Tie Luan knife to draw blood, this kid should be less likely to attract ghosts in the future," I thought.

Qian Lizhong's blood flowed down the blood groove on the knife. It was unclear what magic the old woman had used; she simply tossed the knife, and it transformed into a human form upon landing. Although it was merely a shadow, it should be able to last for an hour or two without any problem.

"Let's go, child, the debts are all paid off. Let's return to where we came from."

As the old woman spoke, white mist rose before my eyes, and a dazzling silver light shone. In a moment of dizziness, I seemed to hear children thanking me...

When I opened my eyes again, we were back on the mountainside. There was no cabin there, just a clearing between the terraced fields. When I woke up, I had a ring on my hand, shiny but not like gold or silver...

"Grandma, look!" The first thing I did when I got home was to show my grandma that ring.

"Weiyang, I've always said you're lucky. Look, this is the 'Return' of the 'Imperial Palace Spirit Fox.' If you encounter fox spirits again, just use this as a command, and it will save you a lot of trouble." After listening to my grandmother's words, I took the ring and examined it carefully.

It's only four millimeters wide, but it's engraved with many shapes, almost like some kind of writing. It fits perfectly on my left middle finger...

(IV) The Tragedy of Games: Chapter One - The Banquet

"Sister Weiyang, this invitation is so beautiful! It must be from some eligible bachelor. You should seize the opportunity!" Xiaoling teased as she looked at the invitation on the table with envy.

"You guessed right, he really is a diamond bachelor. Once I get to know him better, I'll introduce you to him and let you be his wife, okay?" I snatched the invitation and said.

"Then Xiaoling thanks Sister Weiyang for recognizing my talent," Xiaoling said, bowing with her hand on her orchid.

"You brat, get to work!" I laughed and tapped Xiaoling with the invitation.