Night fell. Dark clouds sealed away the moon. At the border between yin and yang, a cold, secluded residence gradually came into view.
In the guest hall of the courtyard sat a young woman.
She was playing a game of chess with two tiny paper figures.
“Jintong, Yunü, what do you think tonight’s guest will be like?”
Jintong kicked out a black piece. “No idea. But I hope they’re not as frightening-looking as the last guest.”
Yunü chimed in, “Yes. If it could be a handsome young master, that would be wonderful.”
The woman indulgently tapped Yunü on the head. “Do you want him to stay and keep you company?”
Yunü looked shy, while Jintong grew a little impatient. “Is he coming or not? Once the sun rises, there won’t be another chance.”
The woman hid a smile and waved a hand over the bronze mirror on the table.
Within the mirror, a young master dressed in coarse mourning hemp, holding an oil lamp in both hands, was walking through the wilderness.
“Isn’t he here?”
Yunü was drawn in by the young master’s appearance. “He’s really good-looking. It’s just that he seems to be alive.”
The woman lit the stove with her fingertip, then placed tea leaves into a silver kettle.
“No matter. We’ve done business with the dead and with demons.”
“What business with the living could we possibly not do?”
Jintong echoed, “Master is right.”
“Besides, when dark clouds cover the moon, the two realms of yin and yang connect. A few people may gain the chance to enter an extraordinary place.”
“Perhaps this is an opportunity for our little shop as well.”
The woman tapped Jintong on the head with a bamboo clip. “Stop dawdling. He’ll be here any moment.”
“Go prepare to receive the guest.”
At the woman’s command, every candle and lamp in the residence went out, and the courtyard sank into darkness, hidden in the night.
The oil lamp in the young master’s hand flickered like a firefly.
A residence gradually appeared before his eyes. A signboard hung before the gate.
“Artifact Spirit Pawnshop.”
A couplet also hung by the entrance: “With one paper contract, trust is kept; by mutual consent, urgent need is relieved.”
The young master set the lamp at his feet, knelt, and kowtowed three times with audible thuds.
“I beg Miss Changming to descend the mountain and help my Yun family drive away evil and avert disaster.”
“Afterward, I will certainly set out seven tables of banquet and proclaim it to Heaven.”
Behind the door, Jintong rolled his eyes. “My master isn’t an immortal. What’s the point of proclaiming it to Heaven to gain merit?”
“He’s asking someone for help, yet shows no sincerity at all.”
“Even the Kitchen God does nothing, and people still make offerings to him for ten days or half a month.”
Though displeased, he did not delay opening the door in the slightest.
When the young master saw the door open, he rose excitedly and ran inside.
Entering the courtyard, he saw a pear tree in full bloom, its snow-white blossoms radiant beneath the moonlight, exceedingly beautiful.
Only, there was no one to be seen.
The young master hurriedly bowed three more times toward the great tree. “This humble student truly has urgent business with you, Miss. I was somewhat abrupt just now. I hope you will be magnanimous.”
Yunü and Changming stood by the window, covering their mouths, their faces flushed red from laughter.
Yunü tugged at Changming’s skirt. “Master, he can’t have mistaken you for a tree, can he?”
Changming burst out laughing. “What a blockhead.”
She poked Yunü. “Go guide him inside.”
Yunü leapt onto the pear tree, plucked a pear blossom, and tossed it before the guest hall door.
The young master understood at once and immediately walked in.
From the shadows, Changming observed this living stranger.
His features were delicate and refined, and a wisp of sandalwood fragrance lingered around him. His bearing was upright, his eyes clear.
He was a fair-faced scholar.
Because the hall was entirely dark, with not a single lamp lit, he gripped the oil lamp in his hand tightly and swallowed.
His steps were light as he cautiously felt his way forward.
He seemed to be drawn by something.
Lifting the beaded curtain and circling past a flowerpot, he walked straight toward the writing desk.
Aside from brush and ink, there was also a bronze bell on the table.
Under the dim light of the oil lamp, a thin layer of rust could be seen upon it.
He stretched out a pair of fair, delicate hands and, trembling, grasped the cord beneath the bell.
His breathing quickened, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
He kept swallowing.
“Are you looking for me?”
At the sound, he froze in place, his eyes wide.
A sinister wind blew past, carrying the sound of a bell.
A charming voice drifted to his ear.
“Since you came looking for me, why don’t you turn around and have a look?”
As if his body were no longer under his control, he stiffly turned around.
“Ah!”
A female ghost in white frightened him so badly that he fell backward, and the oil lamp slipped from his hand.
Fortunately, Changming caught him around the waist, preventing him from crashing to the floor.
At that moment, the lamps behind him lit one after another, until the hall was bright as day.
Only then did the young master see clearly that the other party was no female ghost at all, but a beauty.
Her skin was fair with a rosy glow, her figure graceful and full, her features elegant and gentle.
A faint flush gradually dyed his cheeks.
At that moment, Changming suddenly let go, allowing him to fall to the floor, then ran aside to extinguish the oil lamp.
With great distress, she stroked the redwood chair.
“This thing is very expensive.”
There was a hint of reproach in her coquettish tone.
He hurriedly cupped his hands. “Today, I have accidentally damaged your belongings, Miss. In the future, I will certainly send something better to you.”
Hearing this, Changming laughed softly. “You do know how to coax people.”
She rose and walked to the table, pouring out two cups of the brewed tea.
“Young Master, coming to find me so late, you must have some urgent matter?”
He hurriedly spoke to Changming. “It is indeed urgent. I have come today to ask you, Miss, to descend the mountain and help my Yun family drive away evil and avert disaster.”
Changming took a sip of tea and leaned leisurely against her chair. “The Yun family?”
The young master set down the teacup he had just picked up and introduced himself.
“My name is Yun Yichu. I am the eldest grandson of the Yun family.”
Changming narrowed her eyes and lightly tapped the tabletop several times. A copy of the Hundred Families Genealogy flew out from the bookshelf and landed in her hand.
She flipped through the book, her voice pleasant as a silver bell.
“The first generation of the Yun family was named Yun Ruosheng. From Yangcheng, Dongling Kingdom.”
“His family possessed a gold vein.”
Closing the book, she took a careful sip of hot tea. “I really couldn’t tell. So you’re an overnight nouveau riche.”
Those words made Yun Yichu’s face redden at once. “I do not deserve such words. It was merely good fortune.”
“Your generation should be the third generation of the Yun family.”
Yun Yichu hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “The Yun family rose to prominence in my grandfather’s hands. If counted from there, then I am indeed the third generation of the Yun family.”
Changming raised her hand and tossed the book back onto the shelf. “A young man of heroic spirit, who took the Jieyuan title in the autumn provincial examination, the Huiyuan title in the spring metropolitan examination, and entered this year’s palace examination at such a young age.”
She tapped Yun Yichu between the brows. “What a young man whose talent soars higher than the heavens.”
Then she sighed. “I fear your fortune is too abundant, and you have used up the luck of your next three lives.”
When Yun Yichu heard this, his expression changed. “What do you mean by that?”
“Only the literal meaning.”
Changming refilled Yun Yichu’s cup of tea. “What exactly did you come to find me for? Explain it in more detail.”
“So I can estimate a price.”
As she spoke, she took out a golden abacus and placed it on the chessboard.
Yun Yichu was somewhat confused. Bewildered, he rose and bowed at the waist.
“So long as you are willing to help this humble student, Miss, I will certainly thank you generously in the future.”
Changming narrowed her eyes. “Did the person who directed you here not tell you what you should do?”
Her voice, once gentle, turned icy and bone-chilling.
After hearing this, Yun Yichu dropped to both knees. “This humble student found this place on my own.”
“Light a lamp with fish oil, use a living person as the guide, and the road may be pointed through yin and yang.”
“It is recorded in an ancient text. Miss, you may take a look.”
Trembling, he took out a torn page and offered it to Changming.
Changming did not take it. Instead, she closed the door and windows, rose, and whispered by his ear.
“Do you know what I do here?”
I’m a complete newcomer, so I hope everyone will offer plenty of guidance. I’m not fragile; if there’s criticism, I’ll correct it.