Chapter 168 The Chief of Clan Zhang (2/2)

Then Edelweiss quipped suddenly, ”Indeed! There's also Lu Bugong's horse! That's a truly strong stallion! Hardly a wisp of fume or a whiff of dust.” Yan Jishi stared at them for a split-second, before he shared a quick look with Lu Bugong and they grinned playfully at each other. ”It's quite a story. But here's the short version: this is a fusion technique that Bugong and I came up with! What do you think? Is it any good?”

As it turned out, Yan Jishi had an inspiration during a funeral he attended. He saw the papier-mâché figurines used during the funeral, and had an inspiration, which he then discussed with Lu Bugong. Hence they came up with an idea: Lu Bugong would first build a frame with wood, before Yan Jishi formed the likeness of his figurines with his very own papier-mâché material. Coupled with his enchantments, this would allow Yan Jishi to summon paper minions with actual corporeal forms.

Similar to how humans burn offertory effigies and sacrifices with hopes that they would appear in the Underworld for the use of their dead loved ones, Yan Jishi possessed the innate magical ability to animate to life anything that he burned. This was only because this magical ability was bestowed upon his birth as a member of a family of Hell Guards, which allowed them to be conduits between the Mortal Plane and the Underworld. As for Lu Bugong, whose ancestor was fabled to be the legendary engineer and artificer Lu Ban, he did not find his calling as a craftsman until he completed his university. He had returned home one day following his graduation, and since that night, he had been visited by an old wilted man in his dreams, who began teaching him woodworking. Strangely, that was also when his hair started to turn white. When the old man finally taught him his final lesson, it was also the day when his hair turned fully white. There had been speculations that the old wizened man, was in fact their mythical ancestor Lu Ban, but no one could tell for sure.

In Eastern esotericism, woodworkers are known to wield some knowledge of magic. Furthermore, Lu Bugong's skills in carpentry and magic, which were imparted to him by the mysterious old man in his dreams, hardly used any nails at all. His crafts relied solely on the Lu Ban Lock, an ingenious design by his ancestor. Unlike the Lu Ban Locks we now see being sold in the markets and stores as toys, the actual Lu Ban Lock was integral in Chinese wooden architecture, its design bearing the hallmarks of various Chinese mystical disciplines and teachings. Hence, only the combination of Lu Bugong's skills and Yan Jishi's abilities could make such a feat of turning paper figurines into actual living beings, possible.

Our talk then shifted back to Zhang Zhigui, where he revealed that he had recently clashed again with the mysterious cult, the Order of Pain. It was during the rites for his deceased grandfather, after the seventh day of his death.

We knew about the fixated grudge that the Order of Pain had for Zhang Zhigui, although we knew not their reason. The truth behind the Order's hatred towards Clan Zhang was made clear when Zhigui went home. At his deathbed, Zhigui's grandfather revealed to him the truths of their clan and all the secrets they had been guarding, including the tale of his duel against the leader of the Order many years ago, where, by a stroke of luck, he was able to undo the magic of the latter, and injured him gravely. This would culminate in the Order's deep hatred for Zhang Zhigui. They have sworn an oath to end the line of Clan Zhang by killing the sole male heir of the clan, Zhang Zhigui himself.

When the Order's leader discovered about the death of Zhang Zhigui's grandfather, he had plotted to abduct his soul for revenge. Little did they realize that the three Champions of Yishui were not the only guards present during the ritual to make sure everything went smoothly; Xie Bingyi, one of the infamous Triune of Wu Zhong was also there. Despite the suddenness of their assault, the Order, with the help of Clans Lu and Yan, where two of the three Champions hailed from, was ignominiously routed.

Then came a short period of peace that hardly lasted for long, for the weasels then came, imploring for Zhang Zhigui's help.

We began talking about the Battle of the Yellow Soil Ridge, and I remembered how easy it was for Edelweiss to restrain Zhang Zhigui and took him captive. ”I remember you have formidable skills yourself, Zhigui,” I asked, ”How was it possible that you were so utterly defenseless against Edelweiss?” It was hardly out of courtesy that I said so, because I knew that Zhang Zhigui had magic and skills of his own, both of which were awesome and impressive as well.

Instead, Zhang Zhigui grinned weakly and pointed his nose before he gasped aloud, ”Alas!”