Chapter 01: The Master of White Stone Palace
Han Zhe lay in a pool of blood, lamenting his incredibly poor luck. Yun Ye could sit atop a volcano about to erupt and still escape disaster unscathed, yet he himself had merely sent eleven snakes to bite someone, only to fail at the moment of success. The snakes’ heads had all been severed, and the old man had broken at least three of his ribs, leaving him coughing up blood profusely.
The old man’s eyes were full of mockery. His two withered hands rested on the back of a chair, his entire person appearing remarkably calm. No one would have thought that just moments ago, this old man had broken three of his own son’s ribs.
Han Zhe looked at the chaotic snake heads scattered on the ground with some regret. If the cave hadn’t been so dry, affecting the snakes’ attack speed, he might have succeeded. The half-dead old man still possessed such skill, which caught Han Zhe off guard. He had clearly been roaring loudly, which should have covered the rustling sound of the venomous snakes crawling—how could they still have been discovered?
“The bewitching power of White Jade Capital is truly formidable, causing us to slaughter each other without bloodshed. You spent a year or two with the Binmei people, and you’ve completely changed, tainted by too much worldly air. Little do you know that this is precisely what makes the Binmei people so terrifying. They walk the mortal world wearing others’ faces, possessing the methods of ghost kings, the transformations of dragons, and the minds of saints. Back when I told you not to have too much contact with the Binmei people, you wouldn’t listen. Now it’s too late for regrets.”
Han Zhe refused to believe such nonsense. He considered his own wisdom adequate, and after spending two years with Yun Ye observing him carefully, he had seen clearly Yun Ye’s intelligence, Yun Ye’s foolishness, Yun Ye’s love and desire, Yun Ye’s hatred and aversion. These things couldn’t be faked. After two years of constant companionship, if he still couldn’t detect whether Yun Ye was wearing a mask, he thought he might as well die.
“I saw the jade tablet rubbings you sent back—they are indeed authentic. You said Yun Ye gave you the jade tablet to play with for a month? The methods of a saint! He knew you wouldn’t discover those secrets, which is why he showed it to you. Han Zhe, think about the Binmei people’s behavior—the clever one is him, the fool is also him. The one who overturned powerful clans for a singing girl is him, and the one who massacred cities in Goguryeo is also him. Such a changeable personality already proves he is a Binmei person, yet you remain trapped without knowing how to extricate yourself. Is White Stone Palace destined to be no match for White Jade Capital?”
Thinking of Yun Ye’s actions, Han Zhe could only sigh. Why did this bastard have to be such a complex person? Wouldn’t it be better to be simple? One appearance in front of people, another behind them—it left him unable to even know where to begin his rebuttal. Weren’t Sun Simiao’s secret medicines supposed to be infallible? Why weren’t they taking effect even now?
The skeleton-like old man finally stood up, laughing eerily as he walked to Han Zhe’s side, crouched down, and extended his hand to dab some fresh blood from the corner of Han Zhe’s mouth, putting it in his own mouth to savor, seemingly enjoying it immensely.
“The taste of a young person’s blood is so fresh and delicious, especially yours. It always makes my heart burn. Hehe, I can’t bear to kill you for your blood. Though I’m already old enough to die soon, I still can’t kill you—unless you and your sister can produce a child. Only then can I end your suffering. Did you think that by having Pang Zhun hide your sister away, I wouldn’t be able to find her?”
Having said this, he pulled a handle beside Han Zhe, and an iron cage slid over. Short and stocky, extraordinarily ugly Pang Zhun lay like a toad at the bottom of the cage. The skin on his back was gone, revealing flesh that displayed a strange, bright red color. Pang Zhun’s consciousness was clear; he couldn’t even feel pain. Seeing Han Zhe in the pool of blood, he said in a low voice: “Young Master, I haven’t said anything. I want to commit suicide, but there’s no way. I can’t hold on much longer.”
Han Zhe didn’t look at Pang Zhun but instead thoughtfully gazed at the old man’s withered, bare feet. He raised his head to address the old man: “The medicine I obtained from Sun Simiao has actually already taken effect, hasn’t it?”
The old man smiled and nodded: “Yes, but I’ve suppressed it in my lower limbs. I didn’t expect that ordinary people could have such a domineering medicine. It probably also comes from White Jade Capital, doesn’t it?”
Han Zhe shook his head and said with certainty: “It has nothing to do with White Jade Capital. This is a medicine that an ordinary old Daoist developed himself. He wanted to use this kind of medicine to anesthetize people so he could operate on their bodies with a knife, cutting out diseased organs. It’s quite miraculous. When I was in Lingnan, I assisted him several times. He’s a very good old Daoist.”
After answering the old man’s question, he said to Pang Zhun in the iron cage: “Little Zhun, endure a bit longer. In the time it takes to burn one incense stick, I’ll be able to get you out of the iron cage and wash your wounds with clean water, washing away all that itching powder.”
The old man patted Han Zhe’s face, pointing to himself, meaning that without his consent, Pang Zhun was doomed to die. He believed Han Zhe was already hallucinating from excessive blood loss.
“Do you know which aspect of Yun Ye I envy most? It’s his extraordinary luck. I’ve always thought that because of my bloodline curse from Heaven, I would never have good fortune in this life. But now it seems I’m finally starting to have good luck. I’m absolutely certain now that if I kill you, my luck will get better and better.”
The old man, worried that Han Zhe might die, felt along his fractured areas with both hands, carefully setting the broken bones and arranging Han Zhe into a comfortable position. His technique was gentle, like a loving father caring for his infant child.
Pang Zhun’s eyeballs darted about as he too discovered something favorable to himself. He happily asked Han Zhe: “Are the venomous snakes you brought poisonous enough? If they’re not poisonous enough, we’re still doomed.”
“Extremely poisonous. I’ve tested them. One snake’s venom is enough to poison forty or fifty people. I even experimented on a large ox—it held on for the time it takes to burn one incense stick before dying completely.”
The old man suddenly stood up and looked down at his legs. A venomous snake’s head was hanging from his ankle. He was absolutely certain he had slain all the venomous snakes—how could this be? Tearing open his trouser leg, he saw that his entire leg had already swollen up. With a great cry, a white light flashed, and the leg that had been bitten by the venomous snake was severed from the root. Unfortunately, the blood that spurted out still carried a grayish-green tinge—the poison had already spread to his body.
Han Zhe said with a smile to Pang Zhun: “I’ve discovered that what Yun Ye says generally makes a lot of sense. He said that after a venomous snake’s head is cut off, it can still bite people for half an hour or even longer. At the time, I thought he was talking nonsense, but now it’s been verified—it’s indeed true.”
“Then hurry up and recover. After my medicine wears off, it will be incredibly itchy. I’m afraid I won’t be able to endure it. When that happens, I’ll tell him whatever he asks.” Pang Zhun was also very happy, especially seeing the old man hack off his leg only for the spurting blood to still be poisoned blood.
“This old man will kill you both right now.” The old man hopped over like a zombie on one leg, bit by bit closing in on Han Zhe.
“Stop pretending. The inheritance of White Stone Palace is more important than your life. Right now, I’m your only root. If you don’t pass it to me, who will you pass it to? Hurry up and spit it out. Whatever secrets need to be revealed, say them quickly, or else White Stone Palace’s inheritance will be incomplete.”
The old man’s soft sword clattered to the ground. His entire person collapsed beside Han Zhe, using a pleading tone: “Marry your sister early and bear descendants quickly. Under the cloud bed at White Stone Palace, there’s a jade tablet and several records. Cultivate well, and you’ll eventually become an immortal. White Jade Capital has already gone ahead of us. You must be careful of the Binmei people—don’t get close to them.”
Han Zhe frowned and said: “I won’t marry Chi’er, and I won’t have children with her. After I get the jade tablet, I’ll go find Yun Ye to study it together. If the condition for becoming an immortal is marrying Chi’er, then to hell with becoming an immortal. Old man, do you have anything else to say? If not, hurry up and die!”
The old man gave a low grunt, then let his head droop to the ground. His bald scalp was covered with age spots, only now devoid of its former vitality. Two long longevity eyebrows lay scattered on the ground, gently stirred by the breeze blowing in from the cave entrance.
After waiting a while, Han Zhe noticed the old man wasn’t speaking. He tentatively pushed with his hand, and seeing no reaction from the old man, he turned the old man’s body over, only to discover he had already died—not from poison, but from being enraged to death. His two eyes bulged wide, with two trails of bloody tears at the corners. The blood was a very pure crimson red…
Han Zhe struggled to stand up. Amidst Pang Zhun’s beast-like howling after the medicine wore off, he picked up the soft sword. First, he cut off the old man’s head, then the remaining hands and feet, and then completely split open the corpse. Only then did he let out a long breath. He scooped a large ladle of water from a nearby water vat and poured it on Pang Zhun’s bright red muscles. After pouring more than ten ladles, Pang Zhun’s howling gradually subsided. Having just become a bit more comfortable, Pang Zhun struggled to turn his head toward behind Han Zhe—he wanted to see whether the old man was really dead.
“Little Zhe, you didn’t smash his skull! This will leave future trouble. Hurry and smash it. Cut the body into smaller pieces, pour oil on it and burn it. Don’t worry about me, I can endure it. Little Zhe, I just saw a glimmer of hope and don’t want it destroyed. Go quickly!” Pang Zhun frantically beat on the iron cage with his hands, constantly urging Han Zhe.
A mountain-like man walked over, sprawled in front of Han Zhe drooling and grinning foolishly. Han Zhe pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, irritably pushing that large face away, then sat down leaning against the iron cage.
“Han Nu, good Han Nu, go smash that meat ball. Yes, just like that. Use force. Very good! Smash the other parts too. Use the hammer at your waist.” Pang Zhun constantly coaxed Han Nu. Watching as Han Nu bit by bit pounded the old man’s corpse into meat paste, only then did he powerlessly let his head droop, chuckling eerily.
“Little Zhun, I don’t even know whether to call you Second Uncle or Second Brother! How are we going to live from now on?” Han Zhe closed his eyes, leaning his head against the iron cage, powerlessly asking Pang Zhun.
“Second Uncle. From now on, call me Second Uncle. Don’t mention those two words ‘Second Brother.’ Go find Yun Ye and ask if there’s any way for our bloodline to continue. Your Second Uncle gave birth to four Han Nus in twelve years. Little Zhe, you can’t be like this, you can’t be like this… Go ask Yun Ye—he might have a solution. Go ask after your injuries heal.”
Pang Zhun cried heart-wrenchingly. Han Zhe stared vacantly at the cave ceiling, then suddenly loudly ordered: “Light the lamps! Light all the lamps that can be lit!”
The new Master of White Stone Palace had finally issued his first command. The shadowy figures in the small cave quickly dispersed. Before long, the cave was as bright as daylight.