The Duke of Ding Guo’s manor.

Yice gazed at the grand gates and sweeping residence, clicking his tongue in admiration. No wonder Daoist Qingyi could afford to be so proud and discerning — look at the clients she took on: all great households. Unlike him, whose work was nothing but catching ghost after catching ghost, doing a ritual at best, and earning divination fees that weren’t even enough to buy one roast chicken.

If he could collaborate with her on this single commission — a proper ducal manor — the divination fee should be quite substantial, shouldn’t it? After setting aside what went toward doing good and dissolving karmic debts, he ought to still be left with a tidy sum of silver. How nice — one step closer to reviving the sect.

Lang Jiuchuan caught sight of the corners of Yice’s mouth stubbornly curving upward and said, “Don’t celebrate too soon. This curse is no ordinary incantation. It was cast by a Liu Xian — an earthly immortal. A curse planted with her own blood and soul cannot be compared to anything a mortal might conjure. Mishandle it and the rebound will be upon us.”

Yice’s expression sobered. “I understand what is at stake. I will proceed with full caution.”

Lang Jiuchuan gave a nod. They followed the steward to a courtyard the Duke’s manor had prepared for them — a secluded, spacious space by the lake, far from the main courtyard and the outer mansion. Whatever commotion arose there would be unlikely to draw too much attention.

When they arrived, Zuo Yan was already waiting. He looked exhausted, with faint traces of red in his eyes — he was truly worn out.

“There are still some preparations to be made for breaking this curse. Please trouble yourself, my lord, to go to the Bai Family and retrieve the birth date, hour, and blood-and-hair samples of Bai Jingsong.” Lang Jiuchuan directed him.

Zuo Yan agreed readily and asked, “Should I also gather those of my wife?”

“Of course. Your wife’s constitution is frail. To prevent her from bearing the brunt of the karmic rebound during the curse-breaking and being unable to withstand it, I have prepared a medicinal pill to protect her heart meridians. You need not worry.”

Zuo Yan bowed in gratitude.

Lang Jiuchuan sent him off to rest, then began making preparations with Yice — only to hear his stomach let out a rumbling growl.

Yice looked sheepish. “Ha — it is about time for the evening meal. Fellow Daoist, surely one works better on a full stomach? Otherwise, with limp hands and weak feet, I’m afraid one can’t even tie a good effigy properly.”

Lang Jiuchuan glanced at the steward standing nearby, who immediately went to make arrangements.

A full meal was had.

At last, the two of them were ready to set to work together. The items procured from Tongtian Pavilion had been laid out one by one on the table. To perform the star-shifting secret technique, substitute effigies were indispensable. The Bai Family’s next generation — Bai Jingsong and Bai Ning — meant two effigies to prepare.

The work of crafting the substitute effigies was entrusted to Yice.

Yice did not slack off. He surveyed the materials on the table, thinking to himself that Tongtian Pavilion truly lived up to its reputation — the quality of every item was first-rate, enough to make him green with envy.

The Bai siblings’ hair and blood samples had already been brought over and set to one side. Yice rinsed his hands in water steeped with pomelo leaves, rolled up his sleeves, and took up spirit grass to begin weaving the effigies.

The effigies used as substitutes did not need to be particularly elaborate, but the blood and hair had to be woven within them. He used two stalks of spirit grass soaked in blood, rolled them together to form the heart, and tucked them inside the effigy. The hair was wound around the effigy’s head, and the fingernail clippings were hidden within the hands.

Lang Jiuchuan glanced over, saw that he was fully absorbed and working in earnest, and withdrew her gaze.

It mattered little how roguish his behavior might be elsewhere — so long as he was serious when it came to the real work, that would do.

While Yice crafted the effigies, Lang Jiuchuan took up yellow paper and began drawing talismans. To break the curse, a ritual altar had to be set up, and to guard against complications mid-process, she also needed to inscribe an array within the altar to prevent anything from going wrong.

What she was drawing were array talismans. Beyond those, there were also resentment-dissolution talismans and the like — none of it was light work.

Yice glanced over inadvertently and caught sight of her drawing talismans as if writing characters — fluid, unbroken, and fast. His hand jolted and he nearly pulled the effigy’s head clean off.

So fast!

No wonder she was proud and discerning — she genuinely had the skill to back it up.

Yice couldn’t help inching a little closer, craning his neck to look. Lang Jiuchuan flicked a glance at him and said, “Even if you stare until your eyes burst, you won’t be able to learn it. Do your own work — don’t turn your effigy into something unrecognizable.”

Yice wore a sheepish expression and suppressed the admiration stirring in his eyes.

Lang Jiuchuan set the array talismans aside to dry, then took up another sheet of yellow paper. This time, she soaked it in the mingled blood of the Bai siblings and used their blood to draw a Pollution-Cleansing Origin-Tracing Blood Talisman. This talisman had to be wound inside the bone chime — it would fully draw out Liu Xian’s resentful will in order to break the curse.

Yice watched the blood talisman flash with spiritual light and couldn’t help but look on with reverence.

The two of them exchanged few words, working in silence as they prepared everything that was needed.

Lang Jiuchuan looked over his finished substitute effigies — the birth dates and hours had been affixed to each, and only the eyes had yet to be painted. When the ritual came, all that would remain was to use the blood of the Bai siblings to dot the eyes and inscribe the spell, at which point the effigies would be complete.

She glanced at the sky, then turned to Yice. “The yang energy is at its peak at noon — we could set the curse-breaking for midday tomorrow. But Liu Xian belongs to the yin, and at the hour of midnight, yin and yang are in transition and yin energy is at its heaviest, which should make drawing out the resentful will easier. The risk, however, is also greater. What is your view?”

Yice looked up at the sky and worked through a quick divination on his fingers, then said, “Tonight the moon is dark and the wind is high. Around midnight it will likely rain, and with it being a yin day, performing the ritual at the hour of midnight would be better. If heavenly thunder is drawn down, it won’t attract too many onlookers either.”

“Are you confident?” Lang Jiuchuan said. “If not, we can rest and restore our energy, and wait until tomorrow. After all, this curse is no ordinary matter — we are here to lift a disaster from our client, not to throw our own lives away in the process.”

Yice smiled and said, “Were I doing this alone, I couldn’t say I would be ten parts certain. But with you here as my fellow Daoist, this affair should meet with no failure.”

Lang Jiuchuan was not moved by flattery. “There’s no need for empty compliments. What I require is seamless cooperation. If you depend on me for everything, that isn’t cooperation — that is dead weight dragging me back. With that kind of approach, complications in this technique are guaranteed.”

“This poor Daoist will give his absolute all.” Yice quickly raised two fingers in a solemn vow. “By the name of our Maoshan Sect’s founding patriarch — if I hold anything back or hide anything in reserve, may the patriarch abolish my Daoist heart, and may the Maoshan Sect never rise again.”

Lang Jiuchuan saw how gravely he swore and gave a nod. Then she added, “Should we fail, your cultivation may be damaged and your vitality gravely depleted — in severe cases, it could mean death. You may still withdraw now. That remains an option.”

Yice’s eyes went wide, alarmed. “We’ve come this far and you’re asking me this now? You wouldn’t be pulling the plank out from under me after crossing the bridge, would you? This divination fee — I absolutely must earn it! We are fellow practitioners of the same path — you will look out for me, won’t you?”

Lang Jiuchuan: “…”

She looked at the sky — it had deepened to a dark blue — and said, “Then let us lay the array and raise the altar. While we’re at it, let us run through the steps of the curse-breaking once more, to avoid fumbling when the time comes. And — let me see all of your most powerful ritual implements, especially the ones we will need to use.”

Yice brought out the altar-steadying wood and the Eight Trigrams mirror, then from his bag drew a sword about the length of a forearm, its presence ancient and unassuming, appearing cast from raw copper. The hilt was a five-section chain-link, and the blade was engraved with arcane script along with the sun, moon, and stars. It was unmistakably extraordinary.

“The Three Five Evil-Severing Yin-Yang Sword?” Lang Jiuchuan’s brow arched. “I have heard this sword is passed only to the direct lineage disciple and sect master. Since you carry it, how did you come to be a hired practitioner for the Feng Family?”

A flicker crossed Yice’s gaze, and he grinned. “Naturally, because I am exceptionally talented.”

Lang Jiuchuan saw he would not say more and did not press him. She simply took the Eight Trigrams mirror and altar-steadying wood to examine, and internally, she had her measure of things.