031 Lord You

"Perform for ghosts?" A shockwave of unease rippled through Li Huowang's heart. Just the very name of it reeked of trouble.

"Actually, it's no big deal. We'll just head to the ancestral hall and sing operas in front of our ancestors' memorial tablets," someone explained casually.

"If it's that simple, then why doesn't Master Lü take on this job himself?" Li Huowang shot back instantly. Clearly, things were far from as straightforward as they claimed.

"Hey, this is my first time doing this. I'm a bundle of nerves, you know. So I was hoping you, a seasoned master, could stand by and give us a hand. That way, we can handle this job with peace of mind."

"Master Lü, I really can't help you with this." Normally, he'd go to great lengths to steer clear of such things. How could he go looking for trouble now?

Although there was a chance that nothing bad would happen, he wasn't willing to take that risk.

He and Lü Zhuangyuan were nothing more than traveling companions. He certainly didn't have to risk his life to help him.

If Lü Zhuangyuan didn't want to be a guide anymore because of this, they could just part ways. He could simply ask the villagers for directions. With so many people in the village, surely he could find someone who knew the way.

"Hey, hey, hey~ Taoist priest, don't be so hasty. I haven't finished yet. How about we split the payment for this performance down the middle?"

When it came to money, Lü Zhuangyuan started gesturing wildly. "I didn't want to take this job at first, but it's a small fortune. That Master Hu is incredibly generous! He shelled out a full ten taels of silver!"

"One tael of silver is a thousand copper coins. Ten taels of silver is ten thousand copper coins! My dear Taoist priest! Ten taels of silver! Even if you're aiming for immortality, you still need to eat before you get there."

Li Huowang came to a halt. He eyed the two bags of dried sweet potatoes beside him. He really needed that silver right now.

And it wasn't just about food. He could also expect to fork out a fortune when he reached Jianye Town. In a world full of people, you couldn't get anywhere without money.

"Taoist priest, can you please help this old man? If not, how about you take sixty percent and I take forty? It's not easy to earn this kind of money these days!" Lü Zhuangyuan pleaded, his face full of sorrow as he circled around Li Huowang, continuing to persuade him.

If the master didn't step in, he really didn't have the guts to take on this job. After all, what good was a lot of money if you didn't have a life to spend it?

Suddenly, Li Huowang turned to Lü Zhuangyuan and asked, "Is there a blacksmith in this village?"

"What?"

Led by Lü Zhuangyuan, Li Huowang was taken to the sole blacksmith shop in Wuligang.

"What do you want to forge?" The bearded man, bare - chested, sized up Li Huowang's Taoist robe and barked rudely.

"I don't want to forge ironware. I want to repair something. You can't hammer it or melt it. Can you restore this thing to its original state?" Li Huowang took out the copper bell and inquired.

If he could fix it and summon Lord You, maybe he could really pocket that money. Otherwise, it would be a烫手山芋 (too hot to handle).

"Can't hammer it or melt it? What bizarre requirements." The blacksmith reached out, grabbed the copper bell, gave it a little shake, then pulled out two iron tongs. "Come on, come and give me a hand."

The tongs were long and easily reached into the dented sides of the copper bell. The two of them gritted their teeth and strained with all their might, but the copper bell remained stubbornly unmoved. This outcome was both anticipated and reasonable.

"Hey! How strange. What kind of copper is this thing made of? Why is it so tough?" The curious blacksmith bent his finger joints to tap on it, but Li Huowang stopped him.

Looking at the two tongs clamped on the bell wall, Li Huowang thought for a moment. He poured out a pill from a palm - sized small gourd on his waist and popped it into his mouth.

This was a pill rewarded to him by Master Danyang. He had eaten one when he saved Yang Na in the mental hospital before. After taking this one, there were only three left.

"Buzz!" A sudden rush of searing heat exploded from his dantian and spread like wildfire throughout Li Huowang's body.

He took a deep breath, grabbed one side of each tong with his hands and yanked hard.

"Two people couldn't open it, and you think you can do it alone—" The blacksmith's words were abruptly cut off when he heard a creaking sound. The dented copper bell was actually slowly being pried open.

When the blacksmith's mouth dropped open in sheer surprise, the copper bell had already returned to its original shape.

"Hey, it's nothing. Let me tell you, this Taoist priest has incredible skills." Lü Zhuangyuan boasted proudly to the blacksmith, as if in his eyes, Li Huowang was all - powerful and nothing he did was ever a shock.

Li Huowang left the village and made his way back to the forest alone.

Staring at the copper bell in his hand, he shook it with a glimmer of hope flickering in his heart.

As the bell rang out, a feeling of a dark sky and a dizzy head immediately washed over him. This time, Li Huowang didn't stop. Instead, he gritted his teeth and shook it with all his might.

He felt like everything around him was spinning. The lines of the branches around began to twist, break free from their original positions, and gradually take shape.

"There's a chance!" Li Huowang's heart pounded like a drum.

Accompanied by the ear - splitting bell sound, Lord You, whom he hadn't seen in ages, reappeared in front of him. However, this time, only one of them showed up.

Lord You looked like a mass of high - frequency vibrating things formed by twisted and spliced lines. Its body was completely formless.

Li Huowang couldn't stare at it for too long. He felt that if he did, he'd make it disperse.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, he suddenly remembered something. He bent down, dug up a lump of wet mud from the ground and stuffed it into his mouth.

The taste of the mud was revolting, but he endured it and spoke.

"Are you able to understand me?" What he wanted to ask was whether Lord You could understand him, but the sound that came out after being distorted by the strange environment became a very weird melody.

No matter what Li Huowang said, Lord You actually responded. "I can."

This made Li Huowang over the moon. With Lord You's help, his strength would skyrocket!

"Can you help me when I'm in danger?" Li Huowang leaned forward and asked the most crucial question.

Lord You stayed put, calm and composed. It responded slowly but firmly: "Yes, but it will cost you three months of your yang lifespan."

Li Huowang's brows gradually knitted together. "It's a pity."

"Yes, but it will cost you three months of your yang lifespan."

When he saw Lord You repeating the same words, Li Huowang let out a soft sigh in his heart. As expected, there was no such thing as a free lunch. There was a price to pay for summoning Lord You.

And this price was none other than a person's yang lifespan. One summon would cost three months of life.

When Li Huowang asked again if Master Danyang had also made such an exchange, Lord You remained tight - lipped.

The bell sound gradually faded away. Li Huowang clutched his splitting head and took ages to recover at the same spot before returning to Wuligang.

"Taoist priest, you..." Lü Zhuangyuan looked at his muddy mouth and hesitated to speak.

"I'll take the business you mentioned just now." Li Huowang tightened his grip on the copper bell and declared.

"Great! I'll go and tell Master Hu right away!" Hearing this, Lü Zhuangyuan was over the moon.