Volume Two – The General’s Tomb Chapter Fourteen – Casting the Divination

The five of us entered the Hall of a Thousand Poisons in succession, finding the Elder of a Thousand Poisons still seated behind his rosewood table. The mysterious old man, upon seeing the bottles of poisonous creatures scattered about the room, sighed, “Your place is as cluttered as ever.”

The Elder of a Thousand Poisons chuckled, “And you’re still so slovenly. For someone of your stature, you really should change your clothes once in a while; you’ve worn that outfit your whole life.”

The mysterious elder smiled faintly, raised his hands, and slowly removed the wide-brimmed hat from his head. Placing it carefully on the rosewood table, he revealed his face. The four of us were surprised to see how strikingly similar his features were to those of the Elder of a Thousand Poisons.

“It’s much more pleasing to look at you this way,” said the Elder of a Thousand Poisons, smiling.

But the old man’s next words caught us off guard: “Elder Brother, what brings you here this time?”

Hearing this, I realized in my heart that these two were actually brothers, which explained their resemblance.

The Elder of a Thousand Poisons said, “It’s nothing urgent. I just wanted you to meet the youngster who managed to break our sect’s formation.”

With that, he gestured for me to come forward. “Come here, young man.”

I nodded and stepped up, saluting the Elder of a Thousand Poisons. He said, “This man here is called Daoist Ghost Lantern.”

At this, I couldn’t help but be taken aback—so both these elders were Taoist practitioners.

I bowed low to Daoist Ghost Lantern and said, “Greetings, Master.”

He nodded. “You are quite remarkable, young man. Even if you have no intention of joining the Ghost Path, the fact that you managed to break its formation means you are fated to cross paths with us.”

The Elder of a Thousand Poisons nodded as well. “Now then, young man, since you’ve come all the way to see me, it must be for something important.”

I sighed inwardly. After all the trials in the Ghost Market, this was the moment I had been waiting for.

I nodded. “Masters, I do have a question I wish to ask you both.”

The Elder of a Thousand Poisons turned to the three people behind me. “If you youngsters find this dull, feel free to take a walk outside. Here, take this.”

He picked up a wooden tablet from the table and tossed it to Gao Feng, who caught it deftly.

On the tablet were three characters, intricately carved: Hall of a Thousand Poisons.

The Elder of a Thousand Poisons continued, “Just hang this at your waist. With it, you are free to go anywhere in the Ghost Market.”

Gao Feng, ever perceptive, immediately realized our conversation was not meant for others and bowed to the elder. “Thank you, Master.” She took Tian Tian by the hand and led her out.

I signaled for Li Kun to sit beside me, and he obliged.

“All right, young man,” said the Elder of a Thousand Poisons. “What have you come to ask?”

I nodded. “Masters, do you know of Thunder Mountain?”

The Elder of a Thousand Poisons frowned, glanced at Daoist Ghost Lantern, and after exchanging a look, said, “I do know a few things about that place. What do you wish to ask?”

I said, “A few days ago, my brother and I went to Thunder Mountain, but we ran into trouble and fell into a trap. We were saved by a white fox.”

“A white fox?” the Elder of a Thousand Poisons repeated, frowning.

Daoist Ghost Lantern said, “The white fox he speaks of must be the fox spirit of Thunder Mountain.”

I nodded eagerly and recounted the events of that day. When I finished, the two elders exchanged glances, clearly surprised.

The Elder of a Thousand Poisons said, “Since that fox spirit told you to destroy the great tomb and said you would find something inside, did you indeed find anything?”

I nodded and reached into my robe, retrieving the small golden bell. “This bell—it was in the tomb master’s hand. I obtained it by chance.”

The moment I produced the bell, both elders gasped sharply. The Elder of a Thousand Poisons carefully took it from me and examined it, while Daoist Ghost Lantern also inspected it closely.

“It is indeed the one,” said the Elder of a Thousand Poisons to his brother.

I asked, “Masters, what exactly is this bell?”

Neither answered at first. Then Daoist Ghost Lantern slowly stood, reached into his robe, and drew out a round tortoiseshell.

Li Kun and I looked on in confusion as he produced the shell. Standing up, we peered at the object in his hand.

The shell was covered with dense, intricate characters, each one carved in ancient script. The arrangement of the characters formed the pattern of the Eight Trigrams, though in some places the configuration diverged from the traditional arrangement.

Daoist Ghost Lantern turned to me and said gravely, “Young man, I cannot yet tell whether acquiring this item will bring you fortune or disaster. Allow me to cast a divination for you, and then I will explain everything.”

Confused, I asked, “It’s just a bell—why do you need to cast a divination?”

He shook his head. “Tell me your birth date and time.”

After I did, I was about to ask another question, but before I could speak, his hands began tapping lightly on the tortoiseshell. To our astonishment, each tap seemed to make the characters on the shell shift and move.

Then his hands blurred with speed, fingers striking the shell so quickly they became hard to see. Beads of sweat broke out on his brow, and in moments, his clothes were drenched.

The Elder of a Thousand Poisons watched solemnly, about to intervene, when Daoist Ghost Lantern suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, which splattered across the tortoiseshell.

Immediately, two of the carved characters on the shell began to glow with a yellow light.

Daoist Ghost Lantern straightened himself and stared anxiously at the luminous characters.

Since none of us could read the ancient script, we watched his expression, hoping for a clue.

I hurried to his side, supporting his arm. “Master, are you all right?”

He waved me off, eyes fixed on the tortoiseshell.

Then his face went rigid. Slowly, he raised his head and looked at the Elder of a Thousand Poisons. “Fate is fickle, the heart harbors no life. The wandering soul points the way. The general arranges his ranks. The serpent’s corpse brings great calamity. Nine deaths, one life remains.”

The Elder of a Thousand Poisons and I stared at him in confusion. “Master, what do those words mean?” I asked.