Cataclysm Chapter 134: Extras – Fated Marriage 05

Chapter 134: Extras – Fated Marriage 05

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

Lu Xiuzhi said, “I just don’t have a suitable tool at the moment, so I’ll use this as a substitute.” He took off the amethyst bead bracelet and handed it to Kou Xuanling. “Do you want to take a look?”

Kou Xuanling took the amethyst bracelet and held it under the light. The faint purple glow was warm and beautiful. Each bead was crystal clear, and upon closer inspection, one could see that the beads were carved with the Great Qing Daoist Scriptures. “This is truly a heavenly artifact. What is it called?”

Lu Xiuzhi glanced at the amethyst bracelet and said, “It doesn’t have a name yet. I carved the scriptures into the beads out of boredom, and after finishing, I just strung them together casually. Since I didn’t have any other tools on hand when I came down the mountain, I decided to use it, so it doesn’t have a name.”

Kou Xuanling ran his fingers over the beads. “From what you said, it sounds like you have many magical tools?”

“Not many,” Lu Xiuzhi straightened his back and looked directly at Kou Xuanling. “I don’t spend much, so I’ve saved up quite a bit. If you convert it to Chinese yuan, it would be worth several hundred million. It’s not a huge amount, but I can still make money and save more. Supporting a family is definitely not a problem.”

Kou Xuanling looked up at him, forcing a smile before handing the amethyst bracelet back to him. “I heard some noises by the door, I’ll go check it out.” He stood up and walked towards the door.

As Lu Xiuzhi wrapped the amethyst bracelet back around his wrist, he fell silent, contemplating. His plan to entice with wealth had failed.

Kou Xuanling had originally used the excuse to avoid Lu Xiuzhi, but when he reached the door, he indeed heard knocking. He glanced at the clock on the wall, and with a loud ‘dong,’ the hour hand struck ten. The air in the room froze for a moment, and the tense atmosphere became palpable. There was still an hour left before eleven. The knocking turned into the sound of a doorbell. Mr. Chang asked in confusion, “Who could be coming at this hour?”

Kou Xuanling said, “I’ll go take a look.” He reached out to open the door when, with a loud ‘bang,’ the door was suddenly slammed open from the outside. White mist was blown in by the night wind, swirling in a few fallen ginkgo leaves. Kou Xuanling reacted quickly, performing a backflip to avoid being hit by the door. When he looked up, he saw a woman in black standing in the doorway. Her face was thin and hollowed, with sharp features, and her face was heavily made-up.

There was a deep bruise around her neck, an indentation that caused her entire neck to appear deformed. She glared coldly at Kou Xuanling, her mouth slowly opening and widening to an unnatural size, her entire face distorting. Then, a piercing scream erupted from her mouth. Kou Xuanling covered his ears and turned to look at the Chang family.

The Chang family members were all in pain. The youngest daughter was the first one that couldn’t bear, blood started flowing from her nostrils, and her eyes rolled back. Kou Xuanling summoned his peachwood sword, which spun twice in the air before becoming a blur and piercing through the woman in the doorway, pinning her to the wall. He continued his attack, running out of the villa into the courtyard, but after a few steps, his ankle was suddenly grabbed by a ghostly hand that had emerged from the ground, immobilizing him.

The woman, who had been pinned to the wall by the peachwood sword, instantly turned into a skeleton and collapsed to the ground. The door behind her slammed shut with a loud noise. The once-beautiful ginkgo tree lost its luster, now covered in cobwebs, with the ground full of rotting, dark leaves. On the thickest branch of the ginkgo tree hung four ropes, and the woman in black was hanging there, her neck snapped in two, supported only by her skin and tendons, preventing her head from falling off.

The four ropes—there was only one woman in black. Her husband had been captured by Lu Xiuzhi and sealed in the ancient wooden dice, leaving only two children. If they weren’t hanging from the tree, then they must be inside the house!

Kou Xuanling turned back, and the lights in the living room suddenly went out. He could vaguely hear the sound of light bulbs popping and the screams of the Chang family in terror. The woman in black cackled, her voice harsh and unpleasant, “A Taoist? A White Wu? When I was alive, you weren’t my match. Now that I’m dead, my ghost arts is even stronger. A White Wu and Taoist are no match for me now.”

Kou Xuanling tried to pull his ankle free from the ghostly hands, but he found that the hands were attempting to climb up his foot. He grew impatient with the black-clad female ghost’s incessant chatter and summoned the peachwood sword that had pierced the skeleton’s bones. The peachwood sword trembled a few times before it was pulled out, but just as it flew off, a skeletal hand grabbed it.

Despite the peachwood sword burning the skeletal hand, the hand seemed impervious to pain and continued to hold on, allowing its bones to melt from the heat. The black-clad female ghost let out a triumphant laugh. “These are all my creations. Even if one melts away, I have many more. It will be enough for me to slowly refine you,” she said as she landed on the ground, her neck still bound by the rope. Her limbs were stiff, so she crawled on all fours toward Kou Xuanling, speaking greedily, “A third-rank Taoist? Haha, I’ve hit the jackpot. If I can refine you into a ghost servant, you’ll make the perfect helper. I never found good materials when I was alive, but it looks like I’ve found one now that I’m dead.”

Kou Xuanling shrugged and stopped struggling. “If you couldn’t find good materials when you were alive, it just shows your lack of ability. You’re not a true black Wu.”

The black-clad female ghost became enraged. “Who says I’m not? I’ll sever your limbs and head and stitch them back together, then use spells on you!” She crawled to a corner of the courtyard, grabbed an axe, and attempted to stand up. Dragging the axe across the ground, it scraped loudly as she approached Kou Xuanling.

The scene was terrifying—if the ghost was targeting an ordinary person with no means of resistance. Just as the black-clad female ghost raised the axe to strike Kou Xuanling, she was suddenly pierced through the chest by a peachwood sword. She looked down at the sizzling wound on her chest, where white smoke and thick black liquid oozed out. It was enough to make her realize her soul was about to be destroyed.

The black-clad female ghost let out a terrified scream. Kou Xuanling withdrew the peachwood sword and struck the hollow part of her throat, severing her head from her body. “I thought you were a real black Wu, but it turns out you’re nothing special,” he said easily as he cut off the ghostly hands that had grabbed his ankle, then looked down at the black-clad female ghost, who was curling into a ball, slowly melting.

She screamed in fear, “I am a black Wu! I will come back to life! I will live forever!!!”

Kou Xuanling kicked open the door and entered the living room, finding the Chang family unharmed. Lu Xiuzhi was sitting in a chair, fiddling with the amethyst bead bracelet around his wrist. As soon as Kou Xuanling stepped inside, Lu Xiuzhi turned and smiled. “Is it all taken care of?”

Kou Xuanling froze for a moment, finding the smile a bit seductive. He quickly looked away. “It’s taken care of. Did you handle things here?”

“Just two little ghosts,” Lu Xiuzhi replied, patting the chair beside him. “Sit down and rest.”

As Kou Xuanling walked over, he noticed that most of the seating in the living room had been destroyed, leaving only the double chair under Lu Xiuzhi intact. He felt a bit strange about it but didn’t dwell on it. He sat down and spoke to the Chang family. “It’s all taken care of. You can come out now.”

The Chang family instinctively glanced at the clock on the wall, noticing it was still not yet eleven o’clock. They all shifted back a little, warily eyeing Kou Xuanling and Lu Xiuzhi. “We were told by Taoist Kou and Taoist Lu to wait until after one o’clock before we leave. We shouldn’t trust anyone who shows up before then.”

Kou Xuanling rubbed his forehead. “If you don’t trust us, then stay inside. You should have seen with your own eyes how Taoist Lu handled the two ghosts that came in earlier. Don’t you believe us?”

Mr. Chang looked at the broken furniture around Lu Xiuzhi and recalled how the two little ghosts had caused trouble earlier. Though they had just moved in and planned to replace the old furniture, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Lu Xiuzhi had somehow guided the ghosts to destroy the furniture. Their once tense and fearful feelings suddenly faded, and they found it hard to take the ghost-exorcism ceremony seriously. They had spent two months terrified, only for the matter to be settled so easily in less than half an hour. It felt embarrassing.

Mr. and Mrs. Chang silently stared at Kou Xuanling, staying huddled within the red string circle and refusing to leave. They just couldn’t shake the feeling that the whole ordeal was too simple.

Kou Xuanling explained, “I wasn’t lying to you earlier. The villa was originally a Western-style house. The former owner of the house, like you, was a true black Wu. He killed seven people and dismembered them in an attempt to refine a dark spell to control walking corpses for his own use. According to the investigation, they used the dismembered bodies, hollowing out their organs and replacing them with drugs to act as their internal organs. But during one of their drug runs, they were exposed by a powerful person, and the police were able to capture this family of four black Wus.”

“When the police cooperated with the Taoists to arrest the family, the black Wus were no match for the Taoists and all committed suicide by hanging themselves in the courtyard beneath a ginkgo tree. When their souls returned seven days later, they fought again with the Taoists, but evil couldn’t overcome righteousness. The Taoists thought they had completely destroyed them, sending their souls scattering, but what they didn’t know was that the woman among the black Wus was eight months pregnant. Before hanging herself, she had cut out her unborn child and used dark magic to turn it into a ghostly infant. The Taoists had no knowledge of this. Later, another family of four moved into the villa, only to be killed by the ghostly infant and hung from the ginkgo tree. This drew the attention of the Taoists. The ghostly infant was destroyed, but the family that died had practiced black ghost arts, so they didn’t reincarnate but instead sought to return to life.”

“Coincidentally, the Chang family found themselves in a similar situation. They hoped to use black ghost arts to take over their bodies and live forever in the mortal world. But their black ghost arts was all over the place, so they could only threaten ordinary people like Mr. Chang.”

Kou Xuanling continued, “At first, I thought they were black Wus because the time of their deaths matched the reports. Since they intended to use you as substitutes, they would inevitably try to kill you on the same day they died, so I assumed it would be between midnight and 1am. But once we fought, I realized something was wrong, and they… they were overconfident.”

The weak and cowardly ghosts believed themselves to be executioners who could easily claim lives, only to be killed in seconds. After hearing the explanation, the Chang family felt it might have been better not to have heard it—they were even weaker than the ghosts. Mr. Chang rubbed his face. “First of all, thank you for subduing the evil ghosts and saving us. But it’s probably best if we stay inside the circle for now and wait until after 1 a.m.”

“That’s fine,” Kou Xuanling shrugged and didn’t oppose it. He had already explained everything, and whether they believed him or not was up to the Chang family. Besides, they had been too trusting of his words earlier, and safety was the priority. “Tomorrow, you should get someone to dig up the large ginkgo tree in the courtyard. There should be a few bodies inside. Call the police to handle it.”

“Alright, thank you,” Mr. Chang replied. The youngest daughter yawned, with black bloodstains still on her upper lip. She had gotten a nosebleed from the female ghost’s shrill scream, but thankfully, that was the only harm. She tugged at her mother’s sleeve. “Mom, I’m so tired.”

Mrs. Chang picked up the little girl and gently rocked her to sleep in her arms.

Kou Xuanling stood up, grabbed a blanket, and handed it to Mrs. Chang. The moment his hand touched the red string, he suddenly froze, then realized how foolish he had been. Behind him, he heard Lu Xiuzhi’s soft laugh. He turned back, not pleased. “You thought of it long ago, but didn’t remind me?”

Lu Xiuzhi quickly shook his head. “I just thought of it.”

Kou Xuanling glanced at Lu Xiuzhi, collected the red string from the circle, and said to the stunned Mr. Chang, “I forgot that ghosts can’t touch red strings soaked in black dog blood, but humans can. Do you believe me now?” Mr. Chang, realizing his mistake, gave an awkward smile and nodded. Kou Xuanling turned to Mrs. Chang. “Take her back to the room to sleep.”

After a pause, he added, “You all should go back to your rooms and rest. Tonight, Taoist Lu and I will stay in the living room to keep watch. We’ll head back tomorrow.”

The Chang family did feel exhausted. They hadn’t been able to rest properly for nearly two months. Now that the evil ghosts that had been tormenting them for so long had been dealt with, their tense nerves finally relaxed, and the overwhelming desire for rest hit them all at once. After hesitating for a moment, Mr. Chang asked Mrs. Chang to take the two children upstairs to rest while he stayed behind to ask Kou Xuanling, “Are you sure the evil ghosts are all gone?”

Kou Xuanling nodded. “Don’t worry.”

After Mr. Chang expressed his heartfelt thanks, he went upstairs to rest. The lively living room fell quiet. The remains of the furniture lay silently on the floor. Kou Xuanling’s gaze shifted from the broken furniture to Lu Xiuzhi, who was sitting on a chair, fiddling with a string of amethyst beads. It seemed that Lu Xiuzhi sensed Kou Xuanling’s gaze, as he looked up and met his eyes, offering a smile.

Kou Xuanling immediately averted his gaze, moved closer to Lu Xiuzhi, and demanded, “Who exactly are you?”

Lu Xiuzhi paused in his motion of threading the beads and responded with a question of his own, “Did you get hurt earlier? If not, sit down, and we can talk.”

“I’m fine, don’t change the subject,” Kou Xuanling narrowed his eyes and continued, “I realized I made a mistake about the target. Of the family living in the villa, the black Wu mother had the strongest magic. I wrongly assumed that the strongest black magic belonged to the female ghost in black clothes, who was killed later. But after entering the house, I found that the black magic was weakest in her. The other three ghosts were stronger, especially since they could leave the place of death. I didn’t see you capture the two small ghosts earlier, but I did see you subdue the old ghost that attacked Mr. Chang.”

Kou Xuanling raised his index finger, “You subdued that old ghost in one move. The two smaller ghosts didn’t cause much trouble and were captured by you quickly, and—” He pointed at the amethyst beads around Lu Xiuzhi’s wrist. “I’ve never seen anyone carve the Daoist Shangqing Daodong Zhenjing into beads. You said you carved it yourself? These amethyst beads are extraordinary, and the entire Shangqing Daodong Zhenjing is carved inside. It’s a top-quality magical item. Although I’m not a genius, I know all the truly talented Taoists, and I’ve never come across someone like you. I posted a thread on the Taoist forum just now, and after 200 replies, no one recognized you.”

He crossed his arms, looking down at Lu Xiuzhi. “Now, tell me, what kind of creature are you?”

Lu Xiuzhi smiled lightly and changed the subject, “I suddenly thought of a name for this string of amethyst beads.”

“Hmm?” Kou Xuanling frowned.

“‘Sanyuan Liuzhu’,” Lu Xiuzhi said as he removed the string of beads and let it hang from his hand, letting it fall with a soft clink. “You just said it looks like a Buddhist rosary? You were mistaken. This is a Taoist prayer bead. Day and night rotate, the heavens are endless like water flowing unnoticed, and stars are round like beads, hence the name Liuzhu.” He grabbed Kou Xuanling’s wrist, as if to slip the beads onto it, but Kou Xuanling quickly withdrew his hand, only to have it caught.

Kou Xuanling was slightly startled. “What are you doing?”

“Giving it to you,” Lu Xiuzhi replied, without looking up. “The Sanyuan Liuzhu has 108 amethyst beads. In Taoist Sanyuan Liuzhu Jing, the beads are divided into levels. There are 365 beads and 108 beads. The 108 beads represent the stars of the heavens and the degrees of the celestial cycle. I handpicked these amethyst beads and carved the Shangqing Daodong Zhenjing into them over the course of three years. Whether as a decoration or a tool for exorcism, it is a high-quality magical item. If you don’t like it, I can make you another set with 365 beads.”

Kou Xuanling tried to take the beads off his wrist and return them, “I don’t want it. I have my own magical tools; why would I need yours? Stop avoiding the question. Who are you, and what’s your purpose in being at the Chang house?”

“I told you, I’ve been cultivating in the wilderness,” Lu Xiuzhi said. “If I had to say, my purpose is to meet you and become friends. Do you believe me?”

Lu Xiuzhi looked up, keeping a firm hold on Kou Xuanling’s wrist, and quickly added, “Consider the Sanyuan Liuzhu as a token of trust. If you think it’s too valuable and don’t want to accept it, we can exchange tokens. I see your peachwood sword is a good one, so let’s make it that.”

Before Kou Xuanling could respond, Lu Xiuzhi snatched the peachwood sword away and, using some Taoist technique, made it vanish in the blink of an eye. Kou Xuanling furrowed his brow. “Do you know that peachwood is used to bind emotions?”

“Really?” Lu Xiuzhi feigned exaggerated surprise. “I didn’t know that.” He straightened up and solemnly said, “My thoughts are as pure and clear as the bright moon outside, and I truly want to be friends with you. Didn’t people once form brotherhoods with peachwood? That’s my intention, nothing more.”

Kou Xuanling was taken aback. “Otherwise, what other intentions could you have? I don’t have a sister, and my cousin already has a stable boyfriend. If you were hoping for something more, that’s not going to happen—unless you have a sister.”

Lu Xiuzhi’s face darkened. “I don’t have a sister.”

Kou Xuanling spread his hands and pointed outside, “Tonight, there are only stars, no moon.” He patted Lu Xiuzhi on the shoulder. “Even the heavens refuse to help you. Now, tell me, what’s your real purpose? The Taoist world doesn’t know anyone like you, and your skills must be stronger than mine. There’s no reason for you to be so obscure. Explain yourself, or I won’t be able to be friends with you.”

Lu Xiuzhi replied, “I’ve been living in seclusion and cultivating for a long time. It’s normal that the Taoist world doesn’t know me. The Taoist world updates quickly, constantly evolving.”

Kou Xuanling showed his phone to Lu Xiuzhi. “I asked Uncle Ma, and he said that even when he was young, he hadn’t heard of someone like you. Don’t lie. Even if you’re in seclusion, it’s impossible to be completely disconnected from the Taoist world. Even the most mysterious Taoist sects are connected to the Taoist world and have a general idea of who’s who.”

Lu Xiuzhi responded, “When I began traveling, the Taoist world wasn’t as united, and the system wasn’t as perfected. News spread slowly. There were many people living in seclusion, and I was just one of them.”

Kou Xuanling narrowed his eyes. “Is that true?” Lu Xiuzhi nodded, and Kou Xuanling immediately started calling people from the older generation in the Taoist world, taking advantage of his professional connections to reach some of the older folks. Fortunately, he had added many of the old-timers on WeChat, though they didn’t use it much except for President Chen Qingdai. As the president, he always carried the most convenient tools. Soon, he received a response.

After skipping over the usual health advice about staying up late, Kou Xuanling jumped straight to the bottom of the message, his eyes widening in surprise. “Is this really true?!” President Chen Qingdai confirmed that, when he was younger, he had indeed met someone like Lu Xiuzhi and had even reminded Kou Xuanling to treat such a senior respectfully if they met.

Lu Xiuzhi nodded, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

Kou Xuanling was stunned. “So you’re really old?!”

Lu Xiuzhi’s smile froze, and he stared at Kou Xuanling, speechless. Kou Xuanling continued to be shocked, staring at Lu Xiuzhi’s face and marveling, “Do you know how old President Chen Qingdai is? Almost a hundred. He still calls you ‘senior.’ How old are you, really? Why do you look so young even though you’re so old? You look no different from a twenty-year-old. You must have some kind of secret to maintaining your youthful appearance.” He touched his own face, still in awe. “Are you a half-immortal? Do you know how to refine pills?”

Lu Xiuzhi fell silent for a while before responding with difficulty, “I… I’m not that old.”

Kou Xuanling slapped him on the shoulder like a buddy. “I get it. People who can maintain their youth don’t like to mention their age, so I won’t bring it up again. Haha, just think—at my age, I could be your grandson.” He nudged Lu Xiuzhi’s shoulder again, raising his eyebrows. “What charm do I have that made you overlook such a huge age gap and feel like we’ve known each other forever? Tell me, when did you first meet me? You must have known me long ago and are just now trying to catch up to me, right? Heh, not to brag, but big brother has a good eye. Even in a sea of people, you could spot the gold glowing from me. Let’s stop talking nonsense, and after work, let’s grab a drink. We’ll be sworn brothers right then and there!”

Lu Xiuzhi expressionlessly brushed away the hand Kou Xuanling had placed on his shoulder, muttering, “Let’s start as friends first.”

“What’s this? Don’t waste time—starting now, I’ll call you brother. I’d easily risk my life for you. From now on, we’ll look out for each other. Of course, you’ll have to take care of me more. Actually, I’m the one who benefits. I could’ve just called you my ancestor.” Kou Xuanling laughed heartily, still gripping Lu Xiuzhi’s shoulder. He gave it a big, cheerful pat. “I’m really happy today.”

Lu Xiuzhi pressed his hand to his chest, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Kou Xuanling noticed and thought it was because of an injury. “Did you get hurt earlier?” he murmured. “Being older comes with some heart problems, I guess.”

Lu Xiuzhi felt even more discomfort in his chest but shook his head. “I’m fine. You—” He forced a smile. “Just don’t mention my age again.”

“No problem!” Kou Xuanling agreed generously, understanding. “By the way, are you sure there’s nothing wrong with your heart?”

Lu Xiuzhi replied, “…It really has nothing to do with my age. My physical strength, agility, and reaction time are all just as good as younger people. Everything’s fine.”

 

 

 

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