Chapter Fifty: The Yin Wood Spirit Fish
A light breeze and rain swept over the small building, and the mountain path grew ever more difficult to traverse.
After a fierce battle, both Li Jianguo and Cui Yue felt as if their bodies had been dismantled and reassembled—every limb ached in protest. Cui Yue mused that this was no easy living; one had to be prepared at any moment to sacrifice for the revolution, locked in endless struggle against sinister forces.
“Hey! Uncle, of all the things you could do, why choose this line of work?”
Cui Yue shook the mud from his boots and asked aloud.
“Let me correct you—not this line of work. It’s just a side gig, that’s all.”
“Fine, let’s call it a side gig. But why bother with it at all?”
Cui Yue thought to himself that he’d never seen his uncle hold a regular job for more than a few days, yet here he was, denying the obvious.
“Honestly, I’m not sure. Maybe it’s fate. What began as curiosity has turned into something I enjoy. I suppose it’s all a matter of destiny.”
“Enjoy? You nearly lost your life!”
“Well... Situations like today’s are rare—maybe once in dozens of times. We made it out unharmed, and damn, was it exhilarating. Didn’t you feel a sense of accomplishment?”
Cui Yue shuddered as he recalled the events.
“No. Lately, my soul’s been scared out of me. Wherever I go, my heart pounds. Whenever I see a figure approaching, I have to make sure it’s not a ghost.”
Li Jianguo suddenly turned to him.
“By the way, Cui Yue, why didn’t your Spirit Eye see that hanged ghost at first, but only when the Soul Bell rang?”
Cui Yue shot him a glare.
“How should I know? If I’d known I was going to see a hanged ghost, I’d have run for my life, rain or no rain.”
“Cui Yue, that’s where you’re wrong. We exorcise demons and guard the moral order because—”
“Enough, stop right there. Let’s not dress it up. We take money to solve people’s problems, plain and simple.”
Cui Yue cut him off.
Li Jianguo just smiled quietly at him, saying nothing more.
“Uncle?”
“Hmm?”
“That pitch-black wooden fish of yours—what sort of treasure is it? Old Man Lü just licked it and was instantly cured.”
“That’s the Yinwood Ritual Fish, a proper exorcist’s tool. But coming from your mouth, it sounds revolting.”
“All right, all right. Then how did you get your hands on the Yinwood Ritual Fish?”
“Bought it at a street stall.”
“What? You’re kidding me.”
“Believe it or not.”
...
The two of them walked along, humming tunes as they went. Though their boots were caked in mud, their spirits remained high. Their voices gradually faded as they journeyed farther and farther away...
Five years earlier, on a morning when Li Jianguo’s appetite was robust, he had downed a bowl of silken tofu pudding and a meat-filled bun. Picking at his teeth, he wandered aimlessly through the morning market.
As he strode along, an old farmer selling battered furniture stepped forward to stop him.
Li Jianguo glanced at the wares and quickly waved a hand.
“Sir, no, thank you. I have nowhere to put it.”
The old farmer looked at him, puzzled.
“Young man, I haven’t even said what I’m selling. Why refuse so quickly?”
“Precisely because you haven’t said it yet—I’m saving you the trouble. No need to waste your breath, right?”
The farmer paused, surprised by how easily he had been seen through.
Li Jianguo lifted his leg to leave.
The old farmer grabbed his hand in a conspiratorial manner and whispered,
“Young man, I see you have an extraordinary bone structure, the visage of a nobleman, the spirit of a hero, the essence of the sun and moon, and an aura of imperial dignity.”
Li Jianguo stopped in his tracks. This early in the morning, what nonsense was this old man spouting?
“What do you mean?”
“I was complimenting you!”
“Thanks, but I’ll take my leave.”
The old man looked bewildered.
“Hey, wait, what’s your hurry? Listen to what I have to say, won’t you?”
He pulled Li Jianguo down to sit with him at the base of a wall.
Li Jianguo thought, Well, now I’m stuck like a piece of stubborn plaster.
Suddenly, the farmer’s demeanor shifted; his entire bearing changed as he gazed solemnly at Li Jianguo and began,
“Young man, let me ask you plainly: Would you say these are peaceful times?”
The abrupt question stunned Li Jianguo, his mind going blank as he replied mechanically,
“The world today is in turmoil—underlying currents everywhere. The American imperialists are paper tigers in front, the Japanese wolves in the rear, and then there’s that rabble from Vietnam and India, all conspiring against our borders, bullying our nation, trying to strangle the glorious cause of socialism...”
“Uh... You’re not wrong. But what responsibilities do we bear on our shoulders?”
“To protect Earth, to defend peace. I believe—”
The old farmer grew exasperated, wishing he could peer into this young man’s skull to see what it was made of, so slow was he to catch the point.
Hurriedly, he interrupted Li Jianguo.
“Young man, let’s not beat around the bush. Since ancient times, the world of the living has its rules, the world of the dead its order. Life and death must not be confused; the order must not be broken. From ages past, the wise have guarded this truth. Today, meeting you, I sense destiny at work.”
Li Jianguo was utterly baffled, unable to decipher the meaning behind the old farmer’s words.
Without waiting, the farmer carefully pulled a cloth-wrapped bundle from beneath a jujube-wood cabinet. Within the bundle lay several books and a grotesque, black wooden fish.
Curious, Li Jianguo pointed at the covers and read aloud.
“This is—this is ‘Secrets of Feng Shui and Yin-Yang,’ and that one is ‘Theories of Feng Shui Arrangements’...”
The old man shoved all of it into Li Jianguo’s arms.
“Young man, fate has brought us together today—this is your opportunity. Take these, study them well. In the future, expelling demons and slaying monsters, defending humanity, will be up to you!”
Li Jianguo’s mind couldn’t process it all at once—defend humanity? Expel demons and slay monsters? What was he being given here—just some books and a wooden fish? When it came to fighting the likes of the American imperialists, he thought guns and cannons would be more useful. Even if he knocked on this fish day and night, it wouldn’t stop them.
“This wooden fish is...?”
“This is no ordinary item—it’s called the Yinwood Ritual Fish!”
“What’s it for?”
“For striking.”
Li Jianguo almost fainted.
“I’m useless at this...”
Holding the items awkwardly, Li Jianguo tried to refuse.
“Sir, such an important mission—shouldn’t you find someone more capable? I really can’t do it.”
But the old farmer just smiled silently.
“Young man, this is your fortune, a chance among millions.”
Li Jianguo, unable to refuse any longer, could only accept, bewildered.
“Young man, our fates part ways here. I’m an old wanderer, with nothing to my name. Could you spare some travel money?”
Li Jianguo searched every pocket and managed to gather twelve yuan, all of which he handed over to the old man.
In the blink of an eye, the old farmer had vanished without a trace.
Perplexed, Li Jianguo could only go home and flip through the books. At first, their meaning eluded him, but as he read on, his interest grew until he was utterly absorbed. In the days that followed, he searched the morning market for the old farmer again and again, but never found a trace.
As the saying goes, circumstances make heroes, though it’s impossible to tell how much is real or false. The world is ever unpredictable, and a lifetime is not enough to read all its stories.