“Hey! Are you okay?” Fan Debiao’s voice suddenly rang in Liu Dashao’s ears. Liu Dashao looked around in confusion, searching for its source, but there was no one in sight. His heart jolted with alarm—could it be that Fan Debiao had died and this was his ghost calling him?
“Dashao, what are you looking around up there for? I’m right below you,” Fan Debiao shouted.
Liu Dashao gripped the rock tightly, tilting his head downward. There, not far from his feet, was Fan Debiao, panting heavily and looking up at him. Jackson, Su Yougui, and Da Guozhi, who was carrying the cabbage worm, were all there too.
Liu Dashao finally exhaled in relief. “Is everyone okay?”
Fan Debiao replied, “We’re all fine, except Jackson is a bit shaken up.”
Jackson snapped back, “I’m not shaken up! I’m doing great!”
Jackson had barely finished speaking when Fan Debiao burst into laughter. It turned out he had just been joking around. Liu Dashao shook his head and chuckled too.
“Dashao, is that really you? Is that you?” At that moment, an old man emerged on the opposite bank of the underground river. His face was gaunt, wrinkled beyond recognition, looking like he was over a hundred years old. Yet, strangely, he was dressed in modern clothing. Liu Dashao thought he might be a villager who had also sneaked into the tomb in search of treasure. But he couldn’t help wondering: what was someone of such advanced age doing inside this cave? Was he trying to get himself killed?
“You… you… come here!” The old man’s voice was hoarse, as if he were on the verge of death. He called out weakly.
Liu Dashao looked at the old man, his mind drawing a blank. Curious, he asked, “Who are you? I don’t recognize you at all.”
The old man did not answer. Instead, he summoned all his strength and cried out, “Come here quickly! I have something urgent to discuss with you! Hurry, Liu Dashao!”
“First, tell me who you are and how you know my name,” Liu Dashao’s tone suddenly turned icy cold, making the old man shiver involuntarily. He knew that anything unusual in a moment like this could spell disaster for all of them.
“Hahaha! Don’t you even recognize my voice anymore?” Though the old man’s hair was white and his appearance frail, his tone carried a hint of domineering arrogance. Liu Dashao felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had heard the voice before but couldn’t place it. He was certain he didn’t know anyone like this. After all, he was just an ordinary man. The aura the old man exuded was definitely not something a common villager could fake.
As Liu Dashao was racking his brain, Fan Debiao suddenly trembled, his eyes wide, his teeth chattering as he pointed at the old man and stammered, “Geshuanwa! I remember now—you… you are Geshuanwa!” As soon as he said it, fury surged inside him, nearly overwhelming his senses.
Liu Dashao was stunned for a moment, then sneered, “Well, well, I never thought the great Taoist Master Ge would end up like this!”
“Hehehe… hahaha… wuwu…” Geshuanwa’s voice gradually shifted from laughter to sorrowful weeping. He looked at Liu Dashao with a pained expression and said, “Young man, I… sigh… I don’t mean to harm you. Just give me the second volume of the Taiping Jing, and…”
Though his voice was tinged with bitterness, his words still betrayed an insatiable, obsessive greed.
Liu Dashao looked at him with disdain and gave him the middle finger, saying harshly, “Heaven sees all. You should have known your fate the moment you sent tomb robbers ahead of you as sacrificial lambs. Wake up! Stop chasing after these absurd fantasies!”
Geshuanwa was momentarily stunned, then burst into hysterical laughter. “Hahaha! The true heavenly secrets are beyond what a lowly Taoist like you could ever comprehend. But if I die, you’ll all die with me!” He pointed wildly at the ground beneath their feet, his face twisted with manic joy. “Look! Look! Do you see what’s coming?”
Startled, everyone looked down and realized that the violent surging of the water had completely collapsed the pool. The redirected water was like a bulldozer at full throttle, rushing forward relentlessly. They were now like people stranded on a tiny island, formed by the collapse of the layers of earth.
On the other side of the water, Geshuanwa’s face flushed red with excitement at the sound of the roaring water.
“Longevity! Hahaha! Longevity!” He laughed maniacally. “You… you give me the second volume, and I… I promise I’ll show you the way out…”
“Do you really think we’d believe you?” Liu Dashao said calmly, as if watching a ridiculous theatrical performance.
“You… I’m serious, Liu Dashao. If I’m not mistaken, the ‘Human Scroll’ should already be in your possession. I never imagined that all my meticulous planning would end up benefiting someone like you. But, tell me—are you interested in the ‘Heavenly Scroll’ I took? How about this—we strike a deal, and I’ll share with you the secret of eternal life!”
“Tell me, Geshuanwa, why exactly did you end up in such a pitiful state?” Liu Dashao asked curiously, looking at the old man lying on the ground.
“Why do you think? Because I practiced the first volume!” Geshuanwa spat out each word, his hatred seething.
“This is all your own doing!” Liu Dashao snapped.
“My own doing?” Geshuanwa laughed bitterly. “Hahaha! For generations, every abbot of Jiuzhen Temple on Wudang Mountain, including my master and my grandfather, all aspired to attain immortality. When they failed, they passed their hopes on to me. I… I couldn’t betray their trust…” His voice was filled with sorrow and rage.
Liu Dashao tightened the Heavenly Sword on his back and sneered, “You fool. Do you know what? From the moment you took your first step down this path, you were already wrong—completely and utterly wrong. Do you think everyone is as stupid as you? True cultivation is about adapting to nature, following the Dao of Heaven. Look at yourself now—do you look like a true cultivator? Take your delusions with you to the King of Hell and fulfill them there!” He sighed, unmoved by the old man’s words.
“I, Zhang Jiao, studied the Dao for thirty years in the mountains of Jialing and Emei in western Sichuan. One day, I suddenly heard a voice calling my name from within a stone wall. When I looked, there was nothing. This happened for several days. Then, a bolt of heavenly thunder shattered the stone wall, revealing three heavenly scrolls known as the Taiping Qingling Shu. The upper scroll, ‘Tian Dun,’ allows one to ride clouds and winds into the void. The middle scroll, ‘Di Dun,’ enables one to pierce through mountains and stone. The lower scroll, ‘Ren Dun,’ grants the ability to travel the world, hide one’s form, transform at will, and even throw swords and knives to sever heads. When combined, the three scrolls grant the miracle of immortality!” Even after Liu Dashao rejected him, Geshuanwa continued babbling on.
“Let’s go!” Liu Dashao stopped Su Yougui, who had already rolled up his sleeves ready to fight, and held back Fan Debiao, who was about to charge forward.
“Fan Ge, don’t waste your energy on this anymore…”
“But… but what about Kangzi and the others…” Fan Debiao’s face turned purple with rage, his teeth clenched. Though he was a scoundrel, he was fiercely loyal to his brothers. Hu Beikang and the Huang brothers had followed him all the way from Harbin to where they were now. Because of this man—directly or indirectly—they had met their tragic ends. How could he not be consumed with rage?
“Enough, enough! You’ve crossed more bridges than Liu Dashao has walked roads, yet you still can’t see things as clearly as he does!” Da Guozhi took off his sunglasses, patted Fan Debiao’s shoulder, and said earnestly, “Geshuanwa is already like this—that’s his karma. My friend, let it go. How long will this cycle of vengeance last?” He pulled a cigarette from his pack and shoved it into Fan Debiao’s mouth.
Standing beside Da Guozhi, Liu Dashao had heard every word. He looked at Da Guozhi with surprise, then smiled and said, “Let’s go!”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage