Looking at the situation, that thief hadn’t left yet—catching him in a trap would be good! In normal circumstances, people would call the police immediately, right? But the doctor pulled out his phone from his pocket and hesitated repeatedly, feeling that based on his experience in the Dumb House, calling the police would be inadvisable and would only add to the chaos. Still, he couldn’t feel at ease and unconsciously touched the cross at his neck—a pale blue jade crucifix that the shopkeeper had given him a few days ago. He still remembered this piece of pale jade was the same one that had belonged to Xiao Ji originally. The shopkeeper had said this pale jade didn’t match the Dumb House’s antique aesthetic, so he’d tossed it to him. But the doctor always felt this was strange—the shopkeeper never gave him things without reason. If something happened, he should be able to help somehow, right? So the doctor quietly stood up and also headed toward the inner chambers.
Lu Zigan was very anxious. He instinctively knew Hu Hai wasn’t doing anything good, but didn’t know what to do. Ignoring the pharaoh chattering in ancient Egyptian beside him, he walked directly to the lacquered table and asked worriedly, “Young Master Hu, what are you trying to do?”
“Perfect timing. Lend me the铻 knife for a moment.” Hu Hai set down the He Shi Bi in his hands and directly reached into Lu Zigan’s pocket to pull out the铻 knife.
Lu Zigan was startled. Since obtaining the铻 knife, he had carried it with him constantly, and this time he had come intending to return the knife in exchange for that half of the Wordless Stele. He just hadn’t expected Hu Hai to be so impolite as to take it without asking. Just as he was thinking of how to diplomatically express his displeasure, Lu Zigan was shocked to see Hu Hai expressionlessly slash his own palm with the铻 knife, blood flowing freely.
“You! The铻 knife must not see blood! The shopkeeper specifically warned me about this!” Lu Zigan stamped his feet anxiously and immediately snatched the铻 knife back from Hu Hai, carefully wiping it clean repeatedly.
“There aren’t that many superstitions.” Hu Hai dismissed this, took out the White Marsh brush and dipped it in the blood from his palm, then smeared it on the Book of the Dead. After a moment, the originally tattered Book of the Dead returned to pristine condition, its text like new. This scene amazed even the observing pharaoh.
Seeing a mark appear in the upper right corner as the Book of the Dead was restored, Hu Hai compared it with the golden scepter and found the emblems matched. He used the White Marsh brush again, moving the restoration date of the Book of the Dead slightly forward until the scepter’s mark completely disappeared. Then he directly picked up the He Shi Bi beside him, covered it with blood from his palm, and without hesitation stamped it onto the Book of the Dead.
Watching the eight seal characters “Mandate of Heaven, Long Life and Prosperity” appear on the Book of the Dead, Hu Hai smiled with satisfaction, then seemed to hesitate before pulling out a silk handkerchief from his chest.
Lu Zigan had been watching Hu Hai tensely. Now seeing the handkerchief unfold to reveal a jade longevity lock broken in half, he felt as if he’d been punched, immediately frozen in place.
He clearly had never seen this longevity lock before, so why did it feel so familiar? As if he could describe every pattern on it in detail in his heart…
Hu Hai naturally noticed his reaction and became even more certain, immediately using the “Long Life, Hundred Years” side of the longevity lock to dip in his own blood and stamp it onto the Book of the Dead without explanation.
“What are you doing?”
Hu Hai looked toward the voice and saw the shopkeeper approaching with barely contained anger. He triumphantly raised the Book of the Dead in his hand: “What am I doing? You should know, right?”
The pharaoh on the side quickly disclaimed responsibility: “I didn’t do or say anything! And look at my condition—there’s no way I could stop him, right? Tsk, he actually used two objects. He’s probably afraid one won’t summon successfully, so he used two.”
Seeing the Book of the Dead indeed bore two stamps, the shopkeeper held onto a glimmer of hope: “Can the Book of the Dead summon two souls at once? That should be impossible, right?”
The pharaoh spread his hands: “I’ve never tried it either, so asking me is useless. But there are only a few of us here. I have no body, your body doesn’t match, this person’s body is also strange, so only this young man in front is suitable. Even if two souls are summoned, only one can awaken. The Book of the Dead has a certain range—once outside this room, there’s no problem.” He had wanted to warn that young man earlier, but unfortunately, without the shopkeeper’s gold-plated earring, the man couldn’t understand what he was saying.
Hearing this, the shopkeeper wanted Lu Zigan to leave immediately, but when he put his hand on him, he found Lu Zigan’s eyes were fixed intently on the longevity lock on the lacquered table, unresponsive no matter how much he pulled.
Hu Hai paid no attention to what they were saying, his crimson eyes fixed on the Book of the Dead in his hands, watching the bloodstains slowly dry.
The shopkeeper was about to drag Lu Zigan away regardless of everything, but before he could exert force, he saw Lu Zigan’s face turn pale and collapse unconsciously. The shopkeeper only had time to support his arm, preventing him from falling directly to the ground. At the same time, there was the sound of a heavy object falling in the outer corridor.
The shopkeeper groaned inwardly—it must be the doctor who had followed out of concern. Hastily laying Lu Zigan down properly on the ground, he rushed out of the room and indeed saw the doctor lying unconscious outside the door. The shopkeeper panicked: “Didn’t you say there’d be no problem outside this room?”
The pharaoh scratched his face embarrassedly: “Minor miscalculations should be within acceptable limits…”
Hu Hai was expectantly watching over Lu Zigan when he saw the shopkeeper carry in another unconscious person, and couldn’t help frowning. How could there be two? But thinking it over, when his imperial brother arrived, he could just pick one—that wasn’t bad either.
The shopkeeper placed the doctor on the ground, but couldn’t bear to let him sleep on the cold blue bricks, so he sat cross-legged and let the doctor’s upper body rest on his leg. After settling him temporarily, he raised his head and looked at Hu Hai with icy eyes, saying word by word: “Leave the He Shi Bi behind.”
Hu Hai knew this person’s bottom line. Although he had once been obsessed with the He Shi Bi, now it seemed to him nothing more than a dead object, so he placed the He Shi Bi back on the lacquered table. However, seeing the man still staring at the longevity lock clutched in his other hand, he curled his lip: “I took this from my imperial brother’s coffin. You have no right to demand it from me.”
The shopkeeper knew the doctor had originally placed that broken longevity lock in the coffin in the Qin Emperor’s underground palace. He hadn’t stopped it then, so naturally had no standing to reclaim it today. He withdrew his gaze and said no more.
Seeing the shopkeeper made no comment about his intrusion, Hu Hai didn’t relax internally. He understood this person very well—the more silent he appeared on the surface, the more he cared. Today’s events could not end well. Hu Hai’s thin lips curved in a sinister smile as he said disdainfully, “Don’t put on that expression. I’m only doing what you wanted to do anyway. Won’t you admit it?”
The shopkeeper’s hand stroking the doctor’s hair paused, then began trembling almost imperceptibly.
What he wanted to do?
No, it wasn’t like that.
He had never dared to close Fu Su’s coffin, dressing him in the Red Dragon Robe that could preserve the body from decay. Though he also hoped he would open his eyes again someday, he knew that was only his wishful thinking.
Following Fu Su’s reincarnations was also because he didn’t want to see his soul suffer premature death in every lifetime through the cycle of reincarnation, didn’t want his loved ones in each life to endure the torment of separation.
He was just atoning for his sins. Why was he the only one who survived?
They had clearly agreed to create the Qin Dynasty’s golden age together, to ensure the people would no longer wander homeless… but he was still too insignificant, unable to protect even the one person he wanted to protect.
And after more than two thousand years, he was still the same, no progress made, still unable to protect the person he was determined to protect.
This world was very fair—if you wanted to obtain something, you had to exchange it for something of equal value… He had never thought of using the person in his arms to exchange for another…
Seeing the shopkeeper’s hands clench into fists, Hu Hai thought he’d hit upon his true feelings and smiled smugly. Just as he was about to say more, he felt the person at his feet groan and quickly bent down to help him up, letting his upper body lean against himself. When he saw those eyes open, Hu Hai was momentarily overcome with excitement, his thin lips moving as he wanted to call out “Imperial Brother,” but suddenly felt timid.
Lu Zigan opened his eyes to see Hu Hai supporting him while clutching a broken longevity lock, his expression confused, unable to speak for a long time.
The pharaoh, who had been watching with interest, floated over and, not caring whether the person could understand him, asked cheerfully, “How is it? How do you feel? Are you in pain or very uncomfortable?” He was treating this person as an experimental subject.
Lu Zigan pressed his slightly aching temples, feeling his head was filled with many fragmentary memories, but they were chaotic and he couldn’t sort them out clearly—his head was splitting with pain. With some fly-like voice buzzing in his ear, he said impatiently, “Didn’t I say I can’t understand what you’re saying? Why are you still yelling at me? Oh right, what happened to me? I remember it seemed like everything went black and I fainted? There are many things in my head now. Xia Zelan? Who is that… No, wait… this name seems very important to me…”
Hearing this, Hu Hai’s entire body stiffened, and he pushed Lu Zigan away directly, looking at him in disbelief.
Lu Zigan paid no attention either, staring blankly at the longevity lock in his hands as memories flashed through his mind like frames from a movie.
But the shopkeeper, because of the name Lu Zigan mentioned, suddenly understood—so the longevity lock Hu Hai used had indeed summoned a soul, just happened to be Lu Zigan’s past life. He quickly inquired of the pharaoh.
“Eh? It happened to be a reincarnation? Then the summoned soul will directly merge with the present-life body. This is just adding a memory. This young man is truly fortunate!” The pharaoh was surprised but not envious—he was an independent entity. If he merged with another soul, he wouldn’t be the original him anymore.
But the shopkeeper felt hope from the pharaoh’s words. He looked down at the doctor in his arms and asked hopefully, “If… if…” The pharaoh looked carefully at the doctor in his arms, then shook his head: “This one won’t work. His soul is incomplete to begin with, easily attracting strange things. If the Book of the Dead successfully summons, his soul will definitely be pushed out of this body. Even if it’s his past life, it won’t work.”
“Then what if I destroy the Book of the Dead now?” The shopkeeper’s face darkened. With a wave of his hand, the Book of the Dead on the lacquered table flew to the shopkeeper’s hand as if controlled by an invisible force.
The pharaoh shrugged indifferently: “I don’t need it anymore anyway, so dispose of it as you wish. However, I must warn you—the summoning is already established. If you destroy the Book of the Dead now, you might save the person in your arms, but the summoned spirit will immediately be reduced to ashes.”
The shopkeeper’s heart tightened, and his hand about to tear the Book of the Dead froze in place.
“In other words, between two people, you can only choose one.” The pharaoh said without courtesy.
The deer approaches the corner, but only enters the forest. The gentleman should be cautious; it is better to abandon than to proceed, for moving forward brings shame. Was this… referring to such a choice?
Who was the deer?
Who was the gentleman?
Who should… abandon whom…
“Bi Zhi…?” A voice that seemed to come from distant time and space suddenly sounded.
The shopkeeper’s hand holding the Book of the Dead suddenly trembled. Bi Zhi was his courtesy name, given to him by that person.
He still remembered one day when the two were practicing calligraphy in the study, turning to the Book of Songs. Because that person’s name was also taken from the “Book of Songs: Zheng Feng”—”The mountains have Fu Su, the marshes have lotus flowers”—he secretly envied this. Unexpectedly, that person noticed and, saying that since his name was Luo, gave him the courtesy name Bi Zhi, taken from the “Book of Songs: Xiao Ya”—”Mandarin ducks in flight, caught in the net.”
These two characters hadn’t been called by anyone for a very, very long time.
The shopkeeper fell into a trance, vaguely hearing someone chuckle softly in his ear: “Bi Zhi, why did you cut your hair?”
The shopkeeper blinked and looked down at the person lying on his leg, seeing a pair of deep eyes that, without the obstruction of glasses, were as gentle and profound as they had been over two thousand years ago.
He said: “Bi Zhi, it’s been a long time.”