A Prophet - Chapter 11 (Part 4)

Chapter 4 - Three Arts of Yi Numerology

Grandpa Zu calmed his mind, returned to the meeting hall, and stated, "Everyone, be on high alert recently. Someone is playing tricks behind our backs."

Second Boss Ba said angrily, "Damn it, if they have the guts, let's fight it out fair and square!"

Grandpa Zu remained silent, casting a glance at the guild leaders seated before him. Guarding against everything else was easy, but a traitor within the household was impossible to defend against. The affair of the dark hair covering the coffin clearly meant someone had leaked the guild's secrets, allowing the opposition to lay down a trap combining internal and external forces. Yet all these guild leaders were still sitting here with righteous countenances—every single one of them looked like a human, yet every single one of them could very well be a wolf in sheep's clothing!

The Jianghuai Sect possessed numerous taboos, all recorded within the Secret Manual of Flying Arts, which served as the guild's highest-level confidential texts. There were three major taboos and five minor taboos. The "major taboos" referred to actions that must not be committed even if it meant losing one's head; the "minor taboos" meant that unless the guild was so utterly destitute that they could not even scrape together a pot of rice, these acts must absolute not be performed—and if they were, utmost caution had to be exercised, followed by extensive charitable deeds afterwards to avert disaster.

The three major taboos were: a coffin covered in dark hair must not be sealed; an ancient tree a thousand years old must not be disturbed; and temple terraces and shrines must not be destroyed.

A coffin covered in dark hair referred to the exact situation Grandpa Zu had just encountered. When a person died and their hair continued to grow, it was a manifestation of extreme grievance and resentment harbored by the deceased. Such coffins must never be touched, or they would invite unmitigated disaster.

As for ancient trees a thousand years old, trees that had survived for countless years generally possessed spiritual essence and were frequently occupied by certain entities. Such trees must never be touched under any circumstances. This was precisely why officials building roads in former times would rather reroute than chop down ancient trees. Back in the day, the formidable and overbearing Cao Mengde refused to believe in ghosts and spirits, swinging his sword to hack at a hundred-year-old pear tree. As a result, he was sprayed with a gush of blood right across his forehead and subsequently died of a stroke.

Temple terraces and shrines must not be destroyed because Buddhist temples and Daoist monasteries were places of ascetic purification. Those who had left the mortal family worshipped the Three Jewels and bowed to the Three Pure Ones, viewing all living beings in the world as their parents—which constituted supreme benevolence. If anyone dared to trample upon such places, they were truly courting death. Hence, the Jianghuai Sect never destroyed religious architecture, let alone dared to demolish Buddhist statues or divine shrines.

The five minor taboos were:

First taboo: Performing a ghost marriage when dark clouds obscure the moon. When dark clouds blocked out the moonlight, if cats and dogs came running to cause a disturbance, corpse reanimation phenomena were liable to occur. Therefore, practitioners paid special attention to this circumstance.

Second taboo: Pointing out dragon veins amidst thunder and rain. When practitioners looked at feng shui for people, carrying luopan compasses while running all over the mountains—known as seeking dragon veins and dotting acupoints—if the weather suddenly turned overcast and gloomy at that moment, they had to cease their work promptly and stop looking. This was because ancient people believed that rain was associated with the Dragon King. Dragons command wind and rain; since the Dragon King itself had arrived, yet you were still dotting its acupoints, was that not asking for death?

Third taboo: Breaking ground directly above the Tai sui's head. Ancient people referred to the cyclical ruling year as the Tai sui. The ruling year was composed of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, which in turn combined with the Five Elements, the Eight Trigrams, and spatial directions. Consequently, the specific direction belonging to the Tai sui varied from year to year. When adjusting feng shui, practitioners must never break ground in the direction of the Tai sui; otherwise, offending the Tai sui would invite catastrophic disaster.

Fourth taboo: Slaughtering countless living souls in a single layout. When practitioners set up scams, they occasionally had to take lives. Slaughtering chickens and butchering dogs went without saying; however, sometimes to set up grand operations, they would slaughter numerous animals all at once—such as "blood sacrifice" formations. This was considered a severe taboo because those who took lives tended to have short lifespans, and practitioners were terrified of cutting their own lives short. Qiao Wumei's grand fish-summoning operation was suspected of violating this very taboo.

Fifth taboo: Setting out on the next day if the lamp wick self-extinguishes. In ancient times, there were no electric lights, and people relied on oil lamps or candles for illumination. When practitioners were plotting schemes, if the oil lamp on the table suddenly went out on the night before the operation, or if the lantern at the doorway extinguished itself without reason, these were all considered inauspicious omens. Ancient people held the saying that "a lamp wick extinguishing itself heralds mourning and depletion." At such times, no matter how important the operation was or how much money could be made, it would be called off immediately.

The Secret Manual of Flying Arts was the supreme protective treasure of the guild. The contents accessible to practitioners varied according to their ranks. Foot-runners only knew a few superficial scraps, whereas bosses could touch upon matters on the level of taboos along with some advanced flying arts techniques. The only ones who had read the entire manual cover-to-cover were Grandpa Zu and Zhang Zizhan. Huang Farong was an exception because back when she was at "Crossing Begonia," she had served as the guild's "medium," specializing in matters concerning ghosts and gods. Thus, after marrying into "Plum Blossom Lotus," these affairs could no longer be kept from her, and Grandpa Zu had assigned her and Zhang Zizhan to jointly take charge of revising and repairing the Secret Manual of Flying Arts.

Gazing at these guild leaders, Grandpa Zu once again connected this to the death of Zhang Jiyao, sending a shiver through his bones. He could no longer avoid considering his own safety.

Grandpa Zu glanced sidelong at Second Boss Ba, then turned instead to Qi Chunfu: "Fourth Elder, what is your opinion?"

Qi Chunfu replied, "Grandpa Zu, according to the information we currently possess, Master Xuanzi attaining immortality is false, but Zhang Jiyao's death is true. The Jianghuai region is divided into three spheres of influence; with Zhang Jiyao dead, Master Xuanzi bears the greatest suspicion."

Huang Farong raised her head, wanting to speak. But as a foot-runner, she could not speak casually without Grandpa Zu's command. Possessing eyes that watched all six directions, Grandpa Zu naturally caught this detail, yet deliberately chose not to let her speak.

Third Boss Ba chimed in: "If Master Xuanzi wanted to unify the realm under his sole rule, that doesn't quite add up. Zhang Jiyao, the sect master of the Tiansheng Dao, died, yet it did not trigger massive turmoil within the Tiansheng Dao. Even more so, Master Xuanzi did not take advantage of their vulnerability to make a move; instead, Zhang Jiyao's eldest disciple Zuo Yongchan smoothly succeeded to the supreme throne. It appears as though a tacit understanding exists between the two factions."

Grandpa Zu smiled. "You are never muddle-headed."

First Boss Ba interjected: "In other words, Zhang Jiyao died an inexplicable death of his own, while his disciple Zuo Yongchan is the one person who understands the situation most clearly."

Huang Farong made another motion to speak, but Grandpa Zu still withheld the opportunity.

Grandpa Zu looked toward Fifth Boss Ba: "What does Fifth Elder think?"

Fifth Elder was Liang Wenqiu, who, just like Qi Chunfu, was an old veteran under Zhang Dancheng. Liang Wenqiu shook his head. "Grandpa Zu, everything is shrouded in fog and confusion. Forgive my dull vision; I cannot tell."

Right amidst this fog of uncertainty, the "Plum Blossom Society" whipped up a brand-new promotional campaign, with Master Xuanzi claiming that he had completely mastered the "Three Arts of Yi Numerology."

The Three Arts of Yi Numerology referred respectively to "summoning objects from the void," "passing through walls and tunneling underground," and "the method of inedible breath-absorption (penury fasting)." Since antiquity, these had stood as the highest-tier techniques within the realm of metaphysics, as well as essential disciplines pursued by Daoist practitioners. Countless individuals throughout history who sought immortality and spiritual enlightenment pursued these arts, yet those who truly achieved attainment were exceedingly few.

According to historical Daoist records, the most complete display of the "Three Arts of Yi Numerology" occurred during the Three Kingdoms period.

In the late Eastern Han dynasty, there lived a dao practitioner in Lujiang named Zuo Ci. Having heard that this man was extraordinarily formidable but remaining skeptical, Cao Cao hosted a banquet one day for all his civil and military officials, and dispatched men to summon Zuo Ci to attend.

During the banquet, Cao Cao deliberately tested Zuo Ci's magical arts, saying to him, "Today I am gathering all my distinguished guests, and we have every rare delicacy under heaven, lacking only the river perch from the Wusong River. Does the master have a way to fetch one?"

Zuo Ci laughed heartily. "Prime Minister, how difficult is that? Let me execute the art of summoning objects from the void; by merely reaching out my hand, I can fetch fish from a river a thousand li away."

Cao Cao was taken aback.

Zuo Ci produced a bronze basin, hoisted it high into the air, and chanted an incantation. With a sudden flip of the basin, a one-foot-long perch leaped out, fresh, wriggling, and charmingly alive.

Clapping his hands in laughter, Cao Cao added, "Though the perch is fresh and delicious, we lack ginger from the Shu region as a condiment!"

Assuming Zuo Ci had merely been performing sleight of hand and had hidden the fish inside his sleeve beforehand—thinking, You managed to conjure up a fish, but now I demand ginger from the Shu state as seasoning, let's see how you pull this off!—

Zuo Ci stroked his long beard and said, "Prime Minister, wait a moment. I shall go to Shu right now and return in an instant." With those words, a sudden whirlwind stirred up, and with a whoosh, Zuo Ci tunneled straight into the earth, traversing mountains and weaving through caverns, shifting his form and shadowing his trace. In the blink of an eye, he returned from Shu, holding ginger in his hands to present to Cao Cao: "Prime Minister, please partake!"

Cao Cao was dumbfounded. The guests were terrified.

Cao Cao immediately ordered men to bind Zuo Ci and cast him into the dungeons. To this day, he still believed these were merely optical illusions used by Zuo Ci to make a fool of him, so he confined Zuo Ci to an underground cell, sending him only two cups of water daily. Cao Cao told his subordinates, "I have heard that those who master the art of penury fasting can survive two or three years without consuming food." He wanted to see whether the art of fasting truly existed in this world.

As it turned out, two years later, when Cao Cao had Zuo Ci released, the man's complexion remained rosy, his physical appearance unchanged, showing no signs of illness whatsoever.

Completely subdued this time, Cao Cao told Zuo Ci, "Master, A-Man wishes to learn these skills." At that moment, Cao Cao referred to himself by his childhood name "A-Man," and his crafty, slippery nature was enough to leave one tongue-tied in astonishment.

Zuo Ci laughed aloud. "The Prime Minister is a man of wealth and nobility, bound hand and foot by fame and fortune. How could you ever learn the Dao?"

Realizing this man could not be employed, Cao Cao saw no alternative other than execution, and issued the order to put Zuo Ci to death. Having long since perceived the malice lurking in Cao Cao's heart, Zuo Ci employed the earth-tunneling technique to escape, subsequently retiring into seclusion in the regions south of the Yangtze River, where he later accepted Ge Xuan as a disciple—the very same Ge Xuan who became the legendary Grandmaster of Immortality of the Taiji school in Daoism. Zuo Ci lived to the age of 134 before undergoing transformation and ascending to immortality.

This was the most complete historical record concerning the "Three Arts of Yi Numerology." Now that Master Xuanzi was using the "Three Arts of Yi Numerology" as a gimmick to frantically recruit followers, nobody knew what kind of medicine he was keeping in his gourd.

More importantly, with the "Plum Blossom Society" making such repeated commotions, "Plum Blossom Lotus's" business grew increasingly desolate. Ordinary people all believed in Master Xuanzi, and no one sought out Grandpa Zu for fortune-telling anymore. If things continued this way, the Jianghuai Sect might no longer have a foothold left in the Jianghuai region.

Grandpa Zu knew Master Xuanzi was a cautious man, but his recent behavior was altogether too abnormal. Grandpa Zu needed tranquility and a chance to sort through his thoughts. After the guild meeting adjourned, he dismissed everyone. Entering his study alone, he had the housekeeper pour him a pot of Longjing tea, which he sipped while pondering.

At the second watch of the night, the housekeeper came to report that Huang Farong was requesting an audience.

Grandpa Zu had anticipated she would come; the only surprise was that Zhang Zizhan had not tagged along.

After paying her respects, Huang Farong sat down and said to Grandpa Zu, "Grandpa Zu, I have some shallow insights that I didn't have the chance to voice during the daytime meeting."

Grandpa Zu replied, "It wasn't that you didn't have the chance; it was that I didn't let you speak."

Huang Farong smiled. "Grandpa Zu, I feel the most crucial matter right now is to figure out the situation over at Master Xuanzi's end. I wonder what the state of affairs is with the mole we planted over there?"

Grandpa Zu said, "Not a shred of news has been transmitted back. While we planted an operative in their ranks, they likewise planted an operative in ours. Through all these years of open struggle and covert combat, this has long ceased to be a secret. The important thing is this: whichever side discovers the traitor within their own ranks first, eliminating or turning them, takes the lead. Over the years, we have lost three informants to this very game, and it looks like this fourth one is not far behind."

Huang Farong said, "Does Grandpa Zu mean to say that the mole we planted in their camp has already been turned and become a double agent?"

Grandpa Zu looked at her. "What do you think?"

Huang Farong met Grandpa Zu's gaze and said, "There are two possibilities. One is that our operative was turned; the other is that we have an internal traitor among us. Otherwise, things would not be such a coincidence. The affair of the dark hair in the coffin is a taboo of the Jianghuai Sect—meaning the opposition clearly knew we considered setting up such a setup a taboo, yet they deliberately poked our soft underbelly, forcing us to make a move. Then, on the day of our ghost marriage, they deployed the 'Minor Ghost General' to wreck the scene while simultaneously publishing news reports in the newspapers to utterly ruin our reputation! That way, the common people of Jianghuai would believe Grandpa Zu possessed no genuine skills at all, drastically lowering 'Plum Blossom Lotus's' prestige in the hearts of the common folk. At the same time, the guild leaders within the Jianghuai Sect would conclude that Grandpa Zu had violated the taboo rules established by our ancestors, provoking the wrath of the heavens and throwing the guild into desperate straits. Viewed in this light, this move truly killed two birds with one stone. What they failed to anticipate was that we spotted the fishy details on the hair and furthermore saw right through the 'Ghost General Technique' they deployed. Therefore, in round one, they lost."

At that exact instant, Grandpa Zu suddenly felt that the young girl before him had truly grown up, possessing such meticulous and thorough thinking! Grandpa Zu could not help a sigh of inward appreciation: by arranging this marriage for them, he had at least lived up to the spirits of Zhang Zizhan's parents in heaven. With Huang Farong looking after Zhang Zizhan, Zhang Zizhan's life would certainly be happy. Thinking of this, Grandpa Zu smiled with gratification.

Grandpa Zu asked, "How do you think we should proceed next?"

Huang Farong replied, "Both the Tiansheng Dao and the Plum Blossom Society are widely recruiting followers. We can take advantage of this opportunity to plant several new faces deep inside their ranks. At the same time, important guild meetings should streamline attendance because we currently cannot ascertain whether there is an internal traitor in our ranks."

Grandpa Zu smiled again. From the very beginning, he had looked upon this girl married over from "Crossing Begonia" with high regard. Over the past year or more, she and Zhang Zizhan had offered Grandpa Zu no small number of brilliant plans. Grandpa Zu harbored even greater intentions of promoting the married couple.

Seeing Grandpa Zu smile, Huang Farong knew her words had struck a chord in his heart, and she offered a radiant smile of her own.

Changing the subject abruptly, Grandpa Zu asked, "What is Zizhan busy with?"

Huang Farong smiled and replied, "Doing moxibustion."

Grandpa Zu asked in puzzlement, "Is he ill?"

Huang Farong said, "No. Just hypochondria. Didn't he and Second Elder go investigate the case of the female corpse's coffin growing long hair a few days ago? Along the way, he secretly pocketed two strands of hair. Now that we know the enemy is deploying the 'Minor Ghost General,' he's terrified that they might have planted gu insects inside the coffin and that touching the hair himself will cause him to become infected."

Grandpa Zu remarked, "Didn't you explain that day? The 'Ghost General Technique' operates on the principle of yin and yang of opposite sexes attracting one another. The kind on the hedgehogs is the active yang gu, while the kind in the coffin is definitely the still yin gu. Yang gu will not stay still without matching, and yin gu will not trigger or erupt without being provoked. As long as the yin-yang union is not triggered, the yin gu will not take effect."

Huang Farong covered her mouth and smiled. "He is timid, and refuses to listen no matter what I say. Right now he is at home moxibustioning his Zusanli acupoints with mugwort." With that, Huang Farong let out a sigh. "Ah, if only he were as bold and fearless as Grandpa Zu."

Grandpa Zu gave a hearty chuckle and said, "If a husband is uninstructed, it is the wife's dereliction of duty—that depends on you."

Huang Farong was just about to retort when Grandpa Zu shifted the topic once more: "You have been proficient in Qimen mystical arts since childhood; let me ask you, do those mysterious Daoist arts truly exist in this world? Such as summoning objects from the void, wall-passing, earth-tunneling, and penury fasting?"

Blinking her large eyes, Huang Farong was just about to answer when the housekeeper rushed inside and announced, "Someone outside is requesting an audience, claiming to be one of Ninth Master's men!"

Startled, Grandpa Zu hurriedly said, "Hurry and invite them in!" With that, he exchanged a glance with Huang Farong, who smoothly slipped away into the study.