Chapter Twenty-One: The Phoenix Nods

When I returned to the room, Lei Ting Yue was sitting on the sofa, wearing an awkward smile. Su Lengyue sat opposite him with her legs crossed, looking nonchalant. When she saw Xiao Lianshan and me enter, she stood up politely.

“Mr. Qin, you are resourceful and talented. Not only did you find the altar, but you also solved the entrance mechanism. I am truly impressed.”

I sat down beside Lei Ting Yue, neither servile nor overbearing, and replied, “Miss Su, you flatter me. It was just luck—I happened to guess right.”

“Master Huang is very grateful to Boss Yue for helping him accomplish this great task,” Su Lengyue said with a charming smile. “He asked me repeatedly to thank you personally.”

“Well… alas, I didn’t do a good job. I let Master Huang down. We did open the tomb, but we really didn’t find the book he wanted,” Lei Ting Yue replied, scratching his cropped head and forcing a laugh.

“After all, these things have been buried underground for centuries. No one knows what’s inside. The fact that you did your utmost to help is already admirable,” Su Lengyue said, showing no sign of blame.

Lei Ting Yue waved his hand, and someone behind him brought forward a locked case, placing it before Su Lengyue.

“Miss Su, this is the deposit Master Huang gave me, half a million. I haven’t touched a cent. Please let him know I failed to find what he wanted and do not deserve the reward. Please help me return it.”

Su Lengyue smiled lightly without even glancing at the case. “I hear from friends outside that Boss Yue didn’t leave the tomb empty-handed this time. They say you found a golden dragon tortoise?”

“It’s true. After months of digging, all I got was this trinket. It’s hardly worth mentioning.”

“If it’s convenient, I’d like to see this golden dragon tortoise,” Su Lengyue said directly.

Lei Ting Yue hesitated and subconsciously glanced at me. I nodded, and he instructed Xiao Lianshan to fetch the golden dragon tortoise and present it to Su Lengyue.

She picked up the golden dragon tortoise carefully, studying it in silence for a long time before gently placing it back on the table.

“Boss Yue, Master Huang is very interested in anything unearthed from the altar. He wishes to purchase as many as possible. Name your price for this golden dragon tortoise.”

Lei Ting Yue rubbed his forehead, struggling to maintain a smile. “Miss Su, please tell Master Huang that I’m quite fond of this piece myself and wish to keep it for my own enjoyment.”

Su Lengyue pushed the case back to Lei Ting Yue. “Boss Yue, Master Huang never takes back what he’s given. Besides, he said from the start that as long as you opened the tomb, this was merely a deposit. Since you completed the task, the money rightfully belongs to you.”

“I… I really can’t accept this,” Lei Ting Yue replied, his smile distracted.

Su Lengyue seemed unconcerned. She raised her cup of tea politely. “Boss Yue, business aside, let’s cherish our friendship. I’ll toast you with tea instead of wine, hoping we can work together again someday.”

I frowned. The way she lifted the cup was odd. I was about to say something, but Lei Ting Yue laughed heartily, picked up his own tea, and drained it in one gulp.

“Boss Yue, I’ll take my leave now.”

“I won’t see you out. Give my regards to Master Huang. If I ever visit Taiwan, I’ll pay him a visit myself,” Lei Ting Yue replied, standing.

Not long after Su Lengyue left, Xiao Lianshan returned, looking troubled.

“A strange thing happened, Brother Ting. Aren’t Tibetan mastiffs supposed to be fearless? Usually, King Kong barks at everyone, but today, when he saw Su Lengyue, he barked once, she looked at him, and he tucked his tail, trembling and dragging his chain, as if she was going to eat him.”

Lei Ting Yue loved raising dogs, the bigger the better, for their imposing presence. The Tibetan mastiff at the door was taller than a man when standing and would fiercely bark at any stranger. Xiao Lianshan adored this dog, King Kong, and fed him treats every day.

“Haha, even King Kong knows that woman is fierce and not to be messed with. No wonder he ran!” Lei Ting Yue laughed loudly.

Suddenly, I stood up from the sofa and picked up the cup Su Lengyue had drunk from. At that moment, King Kong broke free from Xiao Lianshan’s grip and dashed out of the room, as if he’d gone mad.

“Lianshan, fetch a basin of clean water and bring it to the yard. Hurry!” I said urgently, pushing Lei Ting Yue up from the sofa and taking him outside.

“Ting, take off your shoes. Bear with me.”

“What’s… what’s going on?” Lei Ting Yue asked, bewildered, but did as I instructed.

“Hold on, Ting.” Without hesitation, I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and cut open the sole of Lei Ting Yue’s left foot, then placed it in the basin Xiao Lianshan had brought.

Lei Ting Yue winced in pain, still confused about my intentions.

Blood from his foot quickly tinged the water red. I glanced up at the scorching sun, just past noon, and made Lei Ting Yue remove his shirt, standing upright under the blazing sunlight.

Then, I stretched out my left hand, fingers extended upward, with the fingertips of all but the index finger slightly curved inward.

Forming the Sun King’s seal, I closed my eyes and whispered the incantation:

Radiant and mighty, the sun rises in the east; those cursed by the spell shall die, those meeting the curse shall perish. By the order of the Northern Emperor, I cut down misfortune. All ghosts and demons, begone from my side. What dares to confront me? Water cannot drown, water cannot invade. In all the three realms, I alone am strong.

I finished and pointed the Sun King’s hand seal at the basin. Instantly, the blood-filled water blazed with fire.

“Lianshan, cut a lock of King Kong’s fur from his forehead and throw it in,” I ordered without looking back.

Xiao Lianshan, sensing the gravity of the situation, quickly complied. The dog hair caught fire and turned to ash, falling into the basin, and the red water instantly turned pitch black.

“Ting, drink it,” I said, handing the basin to him.

“Drink this? You want me to drink this?” Lei Ting Yue stared in shock.

I nodded expressionlessly. “Drink all of it.”

He knew I wasn’t joking. After a long hesitation, he braced himself and took a sip, immediately shaking his head in disgust.

“Ting, trust me. Drink it all, quickly—time is short!” I urged, glancing anxiously at the sky.

Gritting his teeth, Lei Ting Yue closed his eyes and gulped down the entire basin of filthy water. Even Xiao Lianshan, watching from the side, felt nauseated.

When Lei Ting Yue swallowed the last drop, I moved behind him, traced a symbol on my left palm with my right index finger, and held my palm up to the sun, chanting aloud:

“Heaven clear, earth bright, blood spirit heed my command; rise as a god, conform to the seal, invoke the law’s spirit, spirit-blood warriors, obey this order, act at once, divine soldiers, swift as the law demands.”

My raised palm turned crimson. I brought it down hard on Lei Ting Yue’s back.

His stomach, already churning from the basin of water, erupted in agony as if a thousand fires burned within. He dropped to his knees, retching violently.

In the filth he vomited were writhing things. Using a stick, I stirred it—dozens of colorful little snakes were squirming. Lei Ting Yue turned pale with terror, and even the usually bold Xiao Lianshan felt his skin crawl.

Only when Lei Ting Yue was vomiting nothing but yellow bile did I help him up.

“Yan Hui… what happened to me?” Lei Ting Yue asked, shaken.

“Ting, you’ve been cursed by Su Lengyue,” I replied.

“Damn it! Get some men and chop that woman up!” Lei Ting Yue shouted, wiping his mouth in fury.

“Ting, confronting her now is pointless. Su Lengyue isn’t ordinary—she used ‘Phoenix Nod’ to curse you without a sound. Sending more men would only mean more deaths. She used a snake curse, not to kill you, but as a warning. Just be more cautious from now on,” I quickly stopped him.

“Yan Hui, what is ‘Phoenix Nod’? When did that woman curse me?”

I explained, “I found her teacup gesture strange at the time. Phoenix Nod is a Miao technique for cursing. The name sounds elegant, but it’s incredibly sinister. To master it, one must live with poisonous creatures from childhood, letting them bite and poison you, then curing yourself, and repeating the process until immune to all poisons. Then, you consume all those creatures, so your body itself becomes a vessel of poison—a living curse. In other words, Su Lengyue’s entire body is toxic; she can curse someone with any part of herself, anytime, anywhere.”

“If that’s true, she could curse me again whenever she pleases!” Lei Ting Yue exclaimed in panic.

I smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Ting. For now, Su Lengyue can’t harm you. In this world, everything has its counter. Gu magic is evil, but all such arts fear certain things, like the blood of a black dog. King Kong is pure black; I burned his forehead hair to ash for you to drink. That hair is concentrated with essence and blood. For forty-nine days, Su Lengyue can’t come near you.”

Lei Ting Yue relaxed at my words.

“But this Master Huang she serves—being able to cultivate a living person into a walking poison like Su Lengyue is truly beyond belief. For Su Lengyue to submit to him, it must be for more than just wealth and power. Anyone who can control a living Gu like her is no ordinary man. Now that he sent her to warn you, I fear a confrontation with him is inevitable in the future,” I said, worried.

“So what do we do now?” Xiao Lianshan asked.

“If Master Huang is so eager to find the Secret Tactics of Luo Xuan, he must have known about the Ming Fourteen Tombs long ago. Su Lengyue wanted to buy the golden dragon tortoise, too—she suspects a deep connection between it and the Ming Fourteen Tombs. Ting, your love of money is well known. If you refused to sell the dragon tortoise, even at her high price, she must suspect you have the Secret Tactics of Luo Xuan.”

“Yes, Yan Hui. What should we do now?” Lei Ting Yue asked.

“The only plan is to find the Ming Fourteen Tombs first. No matter how powerful Master Huang is, this is still your territory—he can’t control everything. Have Liu Hao assign men to keep a close watch on Su Lengyue. We must be prepared for anything.”

Lei Ting Yue nodded in agreement. “You’re right. I’ll make the arrangements as you said. As for the Ming Fourteen Tombs, I’ll leave it to you and Lianshan.”