Have you ever had your fortune told?

Heaven has unpredictable winds and clouds, people have sudden disasters day and night. Recently luck has been terrible – during the day money flows away like water, petty people surge forward aggressively, at night one tosses and turns with headaches and toothaches, plus encountering fierce ghosts. Seeing those ghostly spirits beckoning and smiling – heavens, how could one not go get a divination?

When tremblingly sitting at the fortune-telling stall, one suddenly sees before them a dignified-looking immortal taking one’s birth date and time, calculating with fingers and pinching calculations. Just as the heart grows anxious, suddenly that person’s face shows shock, raising his index finger and pointing toward the nose, crying out loudly: “You! Are going to be rich!”

Rich? Really rich? Or is there some hidden mystery?

The protagonist of this story is surnamed Fan, nicknamed Pockmark. Hearing today that he would become rich, he immediately broke into smiles, overjoyed. This fellow had been having his fortune told for decades, and every time the fortune-teller either said he was haunted by evil spirits or encountering ghosts. Rarely meeting such a good one, how could he not laugh until dizzy?

Fan Pockmark loved having his fortune told, getting it done over ten times a year. It wasn’t that this person was naturally idle with money to burn, but because this man was truly extraordinarily unlucky. From childhood he had been blessed with “ginseng luck,” which cultivated this strange habit.

What is “ginseng luck”? Looking at Fan Pockmark’s experiences, one would understand. From the day this gentleman was born, his family formed an unbreakable bond with ginseng. That day, in the east wing, an infant cried “wah wah” upon birth, while in the west wing, an old man coughed “whoosh whoosh” – here drinking milk, there drinking ginseng soup, as if competing with each other.

When people got sick, they had to take medicine, and taking medicine meant eating ginseng. Grandfather alone eating wasn’t enjoyable enough, so within a few years, grandmother also started coughing, eating half a root daily. Another year later, the parents also started coughing, eating one root every two days, three people sharing.

One after another in the family fell seriously ill, as if they had arranged to take turns. Ginseng naturally came running to the house daily. Watching ginseng flow like water, root after root flying out from the medicine shop and rushing straight to their door, then flowing into chamber pots, personally poured out by Fan Pockmark to serve as fertilizer for the azaleas.

Watering flowers and fertilizing day and night, the azaleas at the gate, nourished by ginseng, grew magnificently brilliant and beautiful. All the neighbors marveled and praised them, but the family’s farmland grew thinner day by day. When Fan Pockmark turned thirty, the family’s farmland was finally completely consumed. The sick people, as if their responsibility was fulfilled, stretched out their legs and went west to see Buddha.

Except for a few extra graves by the mountain, it was as if nothing had happened.

Seeing the medicine shop owner secretly laughing as branch shops opened one after another, Fan Pockmark didn’t even have the strength to lament. He exchanged his last few taels of silver for paper money, burned it, and began his tenant farmer career.

Life having reached this point, he no longer thought about getting ahead. After finishing work each day, Fan Pockmark would either find a doctor for consultation, or if that wasn’t possible, chat with fortune-tellers, fearing he might suddenly fall seriously ill and cause his idle son to suffer misfortune again.

This day, a bone-reading stall appeared beside the Earth God temple. Fan Pockmark, taking advantage of the farming break, naturally had to go get his fortune read to see how his luck was. Who knew that today was destined to be extraordinary – before his buttocks had warmed the bench, Half-Immortal Li Blind Man, staring with his white-rolled blind eyes, shouted loudly: “Rich!”

Fan Pockmark’s eyes darkened, limbs went weak, and he said in a trembling voice: “…Rich?”

“Of course rich!” Li Blind Man roared hoarsely, “Congratulations, good sir! Your Fan family is about to become wealthy immediately! Quickly walk three li west and you’ll encounter official fortune! Quick, quick! You’ll hold the highest office! If you’re late, it’ll be too late!”

Fan Pockmark was overjoyed. Hearing that official fortune was coming, how could he not excitedly rise and run wildly? Regardless of wind or rain, he immediately lowered his head and walked continuously for more than three li, his heart filled with endless joy.

With a thunderous crash, Squire Zhu’s carriage came crashing head-on. Fan Pockmark flew out, not even managing a scream before dying on the spot with his eyes wide open.

How tragic! Where was the official fortune Li Blind Man spoke of? Was it all a lie?

The official fortune was just beginning. When Fan Pockmark died tragically under the wheels, Squire Zhu, having a conscience, immediately took out silver to provide relief to the bereaved family. Seeing Fan Pockmark’s wife was beautiful and pitiable, the squire felt even more guilty and wanted to take care of her closely. Later, he indeed showed concern for her welfare, caring for her meticulously. In less than half a year, he had moved to intimate care.

With father killed by a carriage and mother remarrying, poor Young Master Fan became an orphan. Through his tears, Young Master Fan actually stopped being idle – he didn’t follow in adoption but entered a ruined temple to study hard, from then on striving with determination.

After ten years of cold window study, mist drifted over the water surface, and a long sigh came from the lake. Young Master Fan stood alone on the tower, with a cry of “Worry about the world’s troubles before the world worries,” the Fan family indeed, as Li Blind Man had said, truly produced a Grand Secretary. Young Master Fan not only held the highest office but his literary style was ranked among the eight great masters of Tang and Song ancient prose, still praised today.

On this day, Fan Pockmark’s death anniversary arrived. Young Master Fan led a large group of beautiful wives and concubines to worship their ancestors together. He raised incense with both hands and knelt, saying: “Father, your son has reached the position of chief minister and also established charity granaries for the locality. If you have knowledge in the underworld, you can rest in peace.” Saying this, he wept bitterly.

“Rest in peace? Kiss my ass! Of course I can’t rest in peace!”

With a thud, the ancestral tablet fell to the ground.

His wife had found a home, his son had become a high official, only Fan Pockmark remained as unlucky as ever. Even if he had grown ten heads that day, he could never have predicted that he would have to become an ancestral tablet to exchange for his son’s official fortune. If he had known beforehand, would he have fled with his head in his hands, desperately trying to block this heavenly fortune?

“Wu Half-Immortal…” In the noisy marketplace came a sigh, “I’ve fallen to this state, why are you still making fun of me?”

The market was noisy and bustling with voices. Danyang town was packed with crowds. At the street corner sat a fortune-telling stall with a middle-aged man, behind whom stood a sign reading “Iron-Mouth Direct Judgment Wu Half-Immortal” – this was Wu Anzheng, who had once told fortunes for the four young masters of the Liu household.

Wu Anzheng stared at a man before him and said coldly: “This Official Zhang, I specially told you the story of Song Dynasty Prime Minister Fan Zhongyan – these wise words of warning, bitter advice – my intention was to persuade you to be content with your lot and live honestly day by day, not to harbor improper thoughts.”

That merchant Zhang shook the three taels of broken silver in his hand and sighed: “Master, our livelihood has been blocked by the government troops. What do you want me to do? Show me a way to live.” Saying this, he clung desperately, looking like he’d rather die than leave.

This Danyang town was located in Zhongzhou, about thirty li from Mount Song, sparsely populated with no commercial travelers. Who knew that thanks to Shaolin’s great battle, today Danyang town had attracted countless people. Not only refugees came here to avoid the fires of war, but martial arts experts also came to observe the situation. Even those selling coffins, providing food and entertainment, and fortune-tellers had all rushed here upon hearing the news. If Danyang town weren’t so lively, Wu Anzheng, who lived permanently in the Western Mountain, and merchant Zhang, who traveled Mount Song – one central, one western – could never have come together.

Seeing merchant Zhang pleading bitterly, Wu Anzheng naturally shook his head secretly. The world was about to fall into great chaos, yet common people only knew of trivial fly-like matters, completely unaware that great disaster was imminent. Wu Anzheng’s trip to Mount Song was actually entrusted by an old friend to deliver a message to Shaolin, but unexpectedly got entangled by these idle people. Wu Anzheng, unable to withstand the persistent pestering, immediately said: “Fine, fine, fine! I’ll tell your fortune, just don’t make such a big fuss.” He sighed and extended his finger to touch the man’s left wrist.

That merchant Zhang was wildly joyful yet terrified, his eyes fixed tightly on Wu Anzheng, saying in a trembling voice: “Master, when will I… when will I get rich…”

Wu Anzheng squinted his eyes and suddenly raised both eyebrows, as if seeing something important, and waved his hand saying: “Wait a moment.” Merchant Zhang swallowed saliva and said dazedly: “Wait a moment? Alright… I… I’ll wait…”

After a long while, Wu Anzheng still showed no movement, only reading his scripture and lazily yawning. Merchant Zhang said anxiously: “Master, I’ve waited a long time. Why is there no follow-up?”

Wu Anzheng smiled: “How stupid! I said ‘wait a moment’ and you’ll get rich. I wasn’t telling you to wait.” Merchant Zhang jumped up in great joy: “Really… really?” Wu Anzheng nodded and added: “However, there’s a trick to this matter. Though you’ll encounter great wealth this time, remember absolutely not to be greedy. An unsatisfied heart is like a snake swallowing an elephant – no matter how much gold, silver, and jewels there are, take enough and leave. If you’re greedy, eighty percent chance there’ll be…” He paused and said the rest: “Trouble.”

Who knew that when the word “trouble” was spoken, no sound of surprise was heard. Wu Anzheng raised his head – before him the wind rustled, and the opposite seat was already empty. This merchant Zhang was so eager – upon hearing he would get rich, he ran off like smoke without even paying the full fee. Wu Anzheng shook his head. He had seen plenty of such mercenary people and didn’t mind.

Wu Anzheng slowly rose and walked to the street entrance, looking up at distant Mount Song. At this time, government troops had blocked the roads. Even wanting to know how the situation was changing, there was no way. Wu Anzheng’s brow was deeply furrowed, thinking of the demonic fire descending he had seen that day, and thinking of those nine-patterned phoenix eyes, he couldn’t help sighing quietly.

Speaking of merchant Zhang, this man wasn’t as unlucky as Fan Pockmark. This person had been strong and healthy since childhood, making small trades for a living. All the white rice and cabbage for Mount Shaoshi was delivered by him. Shaolin Temple had two thousand monks – from outsiders’ view, the masters didn’t farm enough and had to buy food externally, so merchant Zhang naturally made money and prospered. Actually, merchant Zhang had handled business for years and knew well that this trade only looked good on the surface – inside it was all a mess. First, look at the monks’ stinginess – the kitchen staff were harsh. When a whole cart of cabbage went up, after their picking and choosing, half a cart would be returned. Every ten days he laboriously pushed up a cart, but the profit was less than three taels of silver. Though not a losing business, he had become poor and destitute, with empty sleeves like wind, not knowing the taste of meat for three months, with bare walls all around. Looking at the day before yesterday, it was even more unlucky – rushing to go up the mountain before the government troops blocked the roads, but when he reached the kitchen, before he could unload, the kitchen staff said something about the Nu Cang demon coming up the mountain, that they had no time to receive goods today, and drove him out.

As they say, blessings don’t come in pairs, misfortunes don’t come alone. Merchant Zhang was driven out the mountain gate, and less than half a li down the mountain, he encountered government troops who confiscated his mule cart and goods, forcing him to retreat thirty li.

A streak of bad luck shot straight up to the ninth heaven – even Chang’e probably smelled it. Merchant Zhang’s life was already hard normally, and now without his mule cart to make money, his days would be even harder. He had originally wanted to find a quiet place to hang himself, but who knew that in his desperation, upon hearing he would get rich, hope secretly grew in his heart. He thought: “I don’t dare dream big, but if I could just get my mule back, that would be the greatest joy.” He gathered his courage and walked toward the mountain foot. After less than half a li, he saw camps ahead arranged in rows like scales, layer upon layer – this was where government troops were stationed.

At this time, bandits and government vanguards were fighting fiercely, with killing sounds shaking the sky coming continuously from far and near – truly heart-stopping to hear. Merchant Zhang walked swiftly with weak hands and feet, chanting Buddha’s name all the way. This man had lived a hard life since childhood – family affairs, national affairs, world affairs – none were his concern. White rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea – everything required effort. Even if the world fell into chaos, as long as the fire didn’t reach his own head, who cared about Nu Cang or the court? Walking along thinking about his livelihood, unknowingly he had reached the camp gate. Lost in thought, he suddenly heard a violent shout: “Who goes there? How dare you trespass on the military camp? Don’t you know we’re fighting?”

Merchant Zhang, seeing the guards at the gate, was only afraid and wanted to turn and flee, but remembering Wu Anzheng’s prediction, he gained infinite courage. He put on a pitiful face and said humbly: “Big brother, I’m a merchant. Earlier my mule cart was confiscated by the officers and kept in the camp. I want… I want to get it back…” He boldly said these few sentences, then lowered his head and shrank his hands, just waiting to be slapped. Who knew that after waiting a long time, he heard no sound. Merchant Zhang made a sound of surprise and glanced sideways – that guard had already been struck by an arrow and died. Merchant Zhang was shocked, frightened, panicked, and suspicious. He swallowed twice, looked around to see no one, then sneakily walked into the military camp.

Just entering the camp, he heard tremendous sounds in the distance. Amid tide-like killing sounds mixed with shouts from government forces: “Someone come! The bandits are raiding the grain! Everyone defend the gates to the death!” Merchant Zhang saw large numbers of soldiers all running toward the back of the camp. The huge camp was completely empty. He hadn’t expected such good fortune and was momentarily overjoyed, thinking: “Looking at this situation, maybe heaven is showing favor and I can really get my mule back.” He rubbed his hands, lowered his head, his heart pounding as he searched around the camp.

While investigating, he suddenly heard someone shout: “What are you doing?” Merchant Zhang turned around, crying bitterly in his heart. He saw a military officer with fierce eyebrows and vertical eyes, holding a large saber, staring at him viciously. Merchant Zhang lowered his head, shrank his hands, and said with a bitter face: “Master… I… I came to get my mule… mule…” That officer, seeing his unclear origins and inability to speak clearly, immediately roared angrily: “Nu Cang bandit!” Without another word, he strode forward to strike merchant Zhang down.

Merchant Zhang was scared out of his wits, fell to his knees crying: “No! I’m not a bandit!” Through his tears, he cursed Wu Anzheng hundreds of times: “What fortune-telling immortal! Pure lies! Where’s the wealth? Could it be paper money?” That officer wouldn’t listen to him – the saber flashed and he was about to execute merchant Zhang on the spot. Merchant Zhang cried loudly: “I don’t want to die! Spare my life!”

Just then, thunderous sounds emerged as large numbers of horse hooves burst forth. That officer’s steel saber couldn’t strike down before his body flew into the air, already severed in two. Shouts arose everywhere, fires started burning, and someone shouted: “Everyone don’t rush to kill people – hurry up and burn the grain!” Merchant Zhang stared dumbfounded, just kneeling on the ground not daring to move. Suddenly a white horse charged toward him, hooves thundering about to trample his head. Merchant Zhang was startled and in panic dodged hastily. His head hit the ground with a thud against some hard object, and he immediately fainted.

Not knowing how much time passed, merchant Zhang finally awoke. Looking around, he saw the camp was completely burned, with not half a foot soldier in sight – he didn’t know where everyone had gone. Merchant Zhang touched the swollen bump on his head, crying out in pain, thinking: “Deceived by the fortune-teller! Where’s the wealth? Just a big bump on my head. Sigh… how unlucky I am.” It was now afternoon. Looking at this situation, there probably weren’t any goods left in the camp, and his mule cart was probably destroyed too. Merchant Zhang, with a bitter face, wandered through the camp looking for a way out.

While walking, he suddenly received a dull kick from behind. Merchant Zhang fell flat. He hadn’t expected someone hiding nearby and immediately shouted: “Spare my life! Master, spare my life!” Before he could cry twice, he heard gurgling sounds from behind, like some animal. Merchant Zhang looked suspiciously and turned to see behind him a thin, dry mule with rolling eyes staring at him. Looking at its arrogant appearance, with a board cart behind it – this was clearly the stubborn beast he raised.

Merchant Zhang burst into tears, hugged the mule and shouted: “Heaven has eyes! We two are finally reunited! Haha! Haha!” At this moment the camp was in ruins and could produce military officers to kill at any time. Merchant Zhang didn’t dare cry much and quickly drove the cart away.

After rushing out three li, having escaped the battlefield, merchant Zhang gradually relaxed. Suddenly he saw dark clouds on the horizon – it was starting to rain. Merchant Zhang’s face turned bitter and he couldn’t help sighing again. This trip he had loaded a full cart of rice and grain when leaving, and returned with a full cart – this business was done for nothing. When it rains, it pours – the rain was very heavy. Merchant Zhang was anxious, afraid the cabbage would rot from rain, so he quickly urged the reins to rush back to Danyang town.

After urging the reins several times, the mule was too lazy to respond and walked even slower. This mule ate much, slept much, and had a fierce, stubborn temper. Merchant Zhang had been fighting with this beast daily and had long hated it to the bone. Seeing this guy acting up again, he threw aside his previous joy of reunion and secretly became annoyed: “That Wu Half-Immortal said I would get rich in a moment, but where was the wealth? Turns out it was just getting back what was lost.” His greatest wish was to exchange the mule cart for a horse cart and kick this stubborn mule out of the house early, but a horse cost fifty taels of silver, while he only earned about three taels monthly – it seemed this beautiful dream would take some time.

Drenched in rain and struggling along, suddenly the mule stumbled and shook merchant Zhang to the ground. Merchant Zhang fell into mud all over and was really too angry. He got up and pointed at the mule, cursing angrily: “Damn thing! No food for you tonight!” The mule burped and glanced sideways at merchant Zhang, seeming uninterested – probably having eaten its fill in the military camp. Merchant Zhang was exhausted and didn’t even have the strength to curse. Seeing rice bags had fallen from the cart, he had to brave the heavy rain to carry the rice bags back onto the cart.

White rice was very heavy but couldn’t be exchanged for much silver. Merchant Zhang, with a sad face, used his thin muscles to lift the rice bags onto his shoulders and carry them onto the cart one by one. After being busy for a long while, just as he was about to turn and drive the cart, suddenly his eyes blinked and he saw several golden yellow things rolling on the ground.

There were many golden yellow things in the world – that mule walked and defecated, dropping at least three to five catties of dung daily. Merchant Zhang picked it up to take home as firewood, so he was used to seeing it. But the golden yellow things at this moment weren’t rotten mud-like dung, but angular gold ingots!

Merchant Zhang frantically screamed and threw himself to the ground to pick them up. He held the small gold ingots in his hands and cried: “Rich! Really rich!” At that time gold was precious and silver cheap – one gold ingot was worth about twenty taels of silver. Looking at the ground, there were fully three lying there, worth at least sixty to seventy taels of dragon silver. Now not only was there money to buy a horse, but probably money to repair the house too.

Merchant Zhang was both joyful and sad. He kicked the mule and cursed: “Dead thing! See if I don’t eat anything but mule meat tonight!”

The mule, receiving a kick, snorted cold air and kicked back with its hind legs, kicking straight into the board cart. Merchant Zhang picked up his whip and cursed: “Dead beast, such a bad temper! See how I’ll teach you a lesson today!”

Just as he was about to raise the whip and beat wildly, suddenly sounds came from behind, as if something was rolling down. Merchant Zhang’s heart suddenly felt strange. In panic, he turned around and saw over ten gold ingots rolling on the ground, golden yellow everywhere.

Merchant Zhang was wildly joyful and immediately pounced again, regardless of the mud all over the ground, gathering all the gold ingots into his arms. Looking at this gold, there were over ten pieces, worth fully a hundred taels of silver. With this money, not only was there money to buy horses and repair houses, but he could probably marry a wife too. Thinking of neighbor village A’hua’s full, plump figure, merchant Zhang was naturally overjoyed, just rolling on the ground. He brought his mouth close to kiss the ingots, and suddenly saw marks on the ingots reading: “Wu Ying Tongbao.”

Merchant Zhang was completely confused, not knowing what the two characters Wu Ying meant. He blinked and thought: “Right, where did these gold ingots come from? They couldn’t have fallen from the sky, could they? I must investigate.” He shook his head in confusion and reached to turn over the rice bags, moving them up and down. Then he saw a cloth bag pressed underneath. The bag was torn at one corner and didn’t look like his own thing. Merchant Zhang looked through the torn hole and suddenly drew in a sharp breath – inside were piles of gold ingots, fully several hundred! Merchant Zhang cried and laughed, shouting: “There is! All there! Money to build ancestral halls and become a squire – all there! Heaven! I’m really rich!”

He cried for a while, then slowly calmed down and saw the matter clearly: “Looking at this situation, it seems the government officers made a mistake and threw military pay onto my cart. Today I’ve struck a windfall.” He took the things out – this bag of gold weighed about fifty catties, barely manageable. Fearing government soldiers would pursue, he wanted to unhitch the board cart and ride the mule to flee quickly.

Just as he moved, he looked back at the full cart of goods and greed suddenly arose: “How stupid of me! Since the officers made a mistake, maybe there are other treasures on the cart. I can’t miss them.” Having finally entered treasure mountain, how could he leave like this? Merchant Zhang, not caring about the treasure in his hands, lifted the tarpaulin and climbed onto the cart to look. Suddenly he saw a large wooden box.

Looking at this wooden box, it was so huge it could hold several thousand ingots. Merchant Zhang was excited and surprised, figuring there must be rare treasures inside – not only could he become a squire, but he could probably rival nations in wealth and dominate one region. He took a deep breath and reached to open the wooden box, focusing to look inside. This time he didn’t see the joy he expected, but was instead shocked with alarm.

Inside sat a man of fifty or sixty years, opening a pair of phoenix eyes and just looking at him.

Merchant Zhang was stunned. He saw that man had a handsome face pale as paper, but his eyes faintly glowed. Merchant Zhang said in shock: “You… who are you?” That person closed his eyes, lowered his head and sighed: “Who are you?”

Merchant Zhang made a sound of surprise. He carefully examined that man and saw this person wearing monk’s robes, holding a rice ball in his left hand and a water bottle in his right, not knowing how long he had been hiding in his cart. He coughed twice and asked: “Are those gold, silver and jewels yours?”

That person said quietly: “All land under heaven belongs to the king. All people and things in the world belong to me.”

This person’s tone of speech was exactly like a great wealthy man – naturally the ingots must be his property. Merchant Zhang’s heart turned mostly cold. Thinking that the wealth at hand would fly away for nothing, but people die for wealth as birds die for food – though he wasn’t a bad person, with the road to riches right before his eyes, the thought of taking risks couldn’t help but emerge. He thought: “Looking at this person’s appearance, eighty percent he’s the rightful owner of the gold, silver and jewels. If I killed him with one stroke today, with soldiers and horses in chaos everywhere, who would know I did it?”

Evil thoughts gradually arose in his heart, his mouth corners coldly turning up. Just as he was about to draw the wood-cutting knife from the cart, his heart suddenly awakened and he thought again: “What am I doing? Zhang has never stolen or robbed since childhood. Though life is hard, I’m not at the point of starving to death. Why do such harmful things?”

Thinking that today was July first when ghost gates open, if he really killed someone, he’d inevitably be haunted by vengeful spirits later. Breaking into cold sweat, he loosened his grip on the wood-cutting knife.

The person in the box, seeing him sometimes standing dumbly silent, sometimes with tears in his eyes, couldn’t help frowning: “Are you Master Ning’s person or Master Tianjue’s person? How is it that seeing the emperor, you don’t know to kowtow? How did they teach you?”

Merchant Zhang looked at the gold ingots on the ground, waved his hand as farewell, then glared viciously at that person: “Fuck your Master Ning! I’m going home – you quickly get off my cart!”

The person in the box was stunned: “What did you say?” Merchant Zhang angrily said: “What did I say? Telling you to get off the cart! I gave you this plague god a free ride for nothing – really fucking unlucky! Fuck!” Saying this, he kicked the ingots aside and reached to grab that person’s collar to throw him off the cart.

Just then, applause came from behind, as if someone was clapping. In this desolate wilderness, how could people suddenly appear? Merchant Zhang was stunned and hurriedly turned around. Instantly his heart turned miserable and he collapsed to the ground, screaming: “Heaven!”

Before his eyes appeared a crystal-bright long sword pointing straight at his throat.

Merchant Zhang was so scared his legs went weak, crying loudly: “Bad person! Villain! Help! Murder!”

The long sword slowly moved away, and a clear voice said: “You needn’t be afraid. Seeing your actions just now, I have no intention of killing you.” Merchant Zhang stole a glance and saw the newcomer had a handsome appearance, though his clothes were stained with fresh blood, looking somewhat frightening. Merchant Zhang’s face trembled as he said in panic: “You… who are you?”

That person smiled slightly: “The God of Wealth.”

Merchant Zhang was both shocked and suspicious. He looked that person over several times and shook his head: “Stop talking nonsense. Zhao Gongming has a beard, Guan Gong uses a big saber – neither civil nor martial gods of wealth look like you.” That person smiled faintly: “Little old man, I don’t have time to chat idly with you. There’s a good job here for you – as long as you do this thing, all those ingots are yours.”

Merchant Zhang, hearing he would truly get rich, was both startled and secretly delighted, saying in a trembling voice: “Is there really such a good thing? You’re not deceiving me, are you?” That young master smiled faintly: “I have business for you – why would I deceive you? I need to trouble you to use your donkey cart to transport the master in the box to a place. After it’s done, the gold ingots are yours to command.”

Merchant Zhang was overjoyed beyond measure and couldn’t help jumping up, crying loudly: “Rich! Really rich!” He wiped away tears and said frantically: “Quick, tell me – where do you want me to go? Up knife mountain, down oil cauldron – anywhere is fine!”

While crying and making noise, he suddenly saw something strange in that young master’s eyes and became afraid again. His mouth corners stiffened as he said: “Never mind, never mind, don’t fool me… Brother, you want me to go to the gates of hell and cross that Naihe Bridge, right? I won’t do this business.”

That young master chuckled and was about to speak when suddenly he covered his mouth and blood spurted straight out. Merchant Zhang was startled and said frantically: “You… do you have consumption?” That young master ignored him, only covering his chest and gasping: “You listen obediently – I only have strength to say this once…” He leaned close and whispered: “Take the person to Beijing’s East Shun Gate… Jishan Alley, General’s Mansion…”

Merchant Zhang repeated blankly: “Beijing East Shun Gate Jishan Alley General’s Mansion? Who is this general?” That young master gasped: “This general is surnamed Wu, given name Dingyuan – within half a month he’ll take office… You take the person to the mansion and say the person in the cart is an old fellow from Xiliang asking him to arrange work as a gardener…” Speaking to this point, he coughed up large amounts of fresh blood and collapsed to the ground.

Merchant Zhang hurriedly rushed forward in alarm: “Young master! You… what’s wrong?” That young master pushed him away, gasping: “Cover the wooden box and act normal going out. Remember – never mention this to outsiders…”

Though merchant Zhang was completely confused, he still agreed. Seeing this cargo was a living person, no matter how bad it got, it probably wouldn’t be returned by the customer, right? He loaded the white rice onto the cart and coughed toward the person in the wooden box: “Old brother, bear with it – since the God of Wealth has ordered it, we’re leaving now. If you want to defecate, urinate, or are hungry or thirsty on the road, just knock the box top and we’ll stop when we hear…” Chattering away, merchant Zhang covered the wooden box and set out. It seemed this journey would involve fighting with that mule – this trip would surely be exhausting.

Merchant Zhang left, the enemy troops also retreated. In the vast wilderness, only the young master remained alone in the rain, watching the mule cart depart.

Juyong Pass, General’s Mansion, old gardener… now only the final barrier remained. As long as he passed this barrier, the threshold Liu Jing couldn’t cross would no longer be an obstacle. Pass this barrier and all civil and military officials would bow and call him minister – the great cause of restoration would be at hand.

That young master breathed deeply and took out a golden treasure box from his bosom. With trembling hands, he slowly opened the box lid.

Everything was ready except the east wind – this was the final east wind. White jade square seal, ancient large seal script, treasure of founding and receiving mandate – back then the Hidden Dragon gained his freedom by relying on this square seal. One dragon robe, one seal stone, plus internal and external military support – great things could be expected.

The box lid opened toward heaven, heavy rain pouring, lightning flashing rapidly. Inside the box was lined with red velvet cloth, and inside…

Nothing at all!

Before his eyes floated the old monk’s compassionate gaze. That young master looked blankly toward heaven, his mouth corners showing a bitter smile. He slowly knelt to the ground and covered his face. Instantly with a sound, fresh blood spurted straight out, immediately dyeing both hands blood red.

Looking at his hands full of fresh blood, he knew there was no turning back. Having gambled everything with even tears dried up, this barrier – even if ammunition was exhausted and both jade and stone perished – he must…

Pass through!