Chapter 13: The Bronze Statues

When Wen Yao finished dealing with the leftover fruits and returned to Di Jiang’s room, she saw Di Jiang standing by the window, gazing down at the tightly shut coffin shop below. Her expression was unreadable, shifting between light and shadow.

“Shopkeeper, what are you looking at?” Wen Yao asked.

“Where is Zhong Xu?” Di Jiang countered.

“Him? I don’t know what he’s been up to. Ever since we returned from Yangchun Manor, his coffin shop has remained closed for days. I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Oh,” Di Jiang nodded faintly, then pointed to the purple-gold four-window carriage outside the window. “Has Prince Rui’an arrived?”

“No, he should still be busy handling the case at Yangchun Manor!” Wen Yao shook her head.

“Then whose carriage is that…?”

“Oh, this one! Prince Rui’an left it here earlier, saying that if you need to go anywhere due to your poor health, it would always be at your disposal—free of charge!”

“Is that so…” Di Jiang pondered for a moment, then said with a puzzled look, “Wen Yao, do you feel like Prince Rui’an seems… somewhat different lately?”

“Different? How so?” Wen Yao paused, then lowered her eyelids and smiled coyly. “Ah… he certainly treats you very differently now.”

“You’re overthinking things.”

“How could I possibly overthink it? Shopkeeper, not everyone is as detached as you are—a living Buddha untouched by worldly desires. You and the prince—one is my male god, the other my female goddess. Aside from your statuses, you two are practically a match made in heaven!”

“But isn’t that precisely why it can never work?” Di Jiang chuckled. “I think Zhong Xu suits me better.”

“How could Zhong Xu possibly suit you!” Wen Yao exclaimed. “He’s just a smelly Taoist priest!”

“What’s smelly about him? I find him quite clean.” Di Jiang shot her a glare. “Enough of your nonsense. There’s no future between me and Wu Rui’an.”

“Hmph, there’s no future between you and Zhong Xu either!” Wen Yao puffed out her cheeks, visibly irritated.

“Heh, whether or not something happens between us isn’t up to you, little brat. Now go wait for me at the entrance—I’ll change clothes and come down shortly.”

“Where are we going?”

“To find Shuxiang and Zhuchaí.”

“Do you have news about them?” Wen Yao’s face lit up with surprise.

Di Jiang nodded. “I roughly know where they are.”

As soon as Di Jiang felt well enough, she couldn’t contain herself any longer. For convenience, she and Wen Yao took the carriage to Yangchun Manor together.

Outside Yangchun Manor, soldiers were stationed everywhere, and the main gate was tense with heightened alertness. However, when the guards saw the carriage bearing Prince Rui’an’s emblem, they didn’t give them trouble and immediately let them through without question.

Upon entering the manor, Di Jiang led Wen Yao straight to the Buddha Hall located in the back mountains.

Inside the hall, over a hundred statues gleamed under the dim light. Porcelain vases and broken jars were scattered around, and the oil lamps flickered weakly, nearly depleted—it seemed no one had tended to them after the raid on the estate.

“Shopkeeper, why have we come back here again?” Wen Yao shivered, her face pale.

Deep down, she knew she was nothing more than a small demon who hadn’t seen much of the world before being saved by Di Jiang. Thanks to her, she escaped the stinking gutters outside the city, no longer feeding on rotting corpses or carrion. Over the years, she had lived in human form without fear of being captured by powerful monks or Taoists. After all that had happened, she realized even her seemingly invincible shopkeeper could fall into peril.

Moreover, she had never encountered such an overwhelming number of skeletal remains before. Returning to this ominous place filled her heart with unease.

“Don’t you think these statues seem unusual?” Di Jiang asked.

“Huh?” Wen Yao glanced around, shaking her head. “They seem ordinary… Oh, wait—they’re made of gold!”

“The ones in front are golden, but those behind aren’t.” Di Jiang climbed up via a side staircase and stopped near the inconspicuous third and fourth rows. “These are bronze.”

As she spoke, she struck the palms of both hands against two nearby statues. With a sharp “crack,” countless cracks appeared on their surfaces, and the next moment, they crumbled into fragments on the ground.

Within one of the bronze statues lay Shuxiang, eyes closed and bloodless, appearing as though he were merely asleep. Inside the other statue was Zhuchaí, having reverted to his original form—a bamboo stick.

“Shuxiang—Shuxiang!” Wen Yao rushed forward, brushing away the debris covering Shuxiang and checking his condition.

Upon closer inspection, she found that Shuxiang seemed only to be sleeping. A faint smile lingered on his lips, suggesting he might be dreaming sweetly.

“Shopkeeper, what happened to Shuxiang?”

“He’s been put under a soul-binding spell.”

“A soul-binding spell?”

Di Jiang nodded. “I’ve always believed in adapting to humanity—if encountering humans, live as humans, think as humans—but this time, I realize I was wrong. What we’re facing isn’t mountain spirits or vengeful ghosts—it’s…”

“It’s what?” Wen Yao pressed anxiously. “Don’t tell me ‘the heavens’ secrets cannot be revealed’ again! Look at how they’ve ended up—you can’t expect me to fight blindly without knowing who our enemy is!”

Di Jiang burst into laughter. “Look at you, so impatient!”

“I was naturally worried! Both Shuxiang and Zhuchaí were secretly harmed. Do you know how worried and afraid I was for you?”

Di Jiang smiled warmly at her, not without admiration: “Hmm... To think that the fearless Wen Yao has finally found something to fear—our suffering hasn’t been in vain!”

“Shopkeeper, stop teasing me!” Wen Yao exclaimed anxiously. “Don’t change the subject! Who is the murderer?”

“The one who harmed us and the one who killed Zhang Siyao are not the same person.”

“What? There are two culprits?”

“The one who harmed us is an immortal, while the one who killed Zhang Siyao is a mortal.”

“An immortal!” Wen Yao gasped. “So that’s why there wasn’t any trace of resentment in this entire estate. This person didn’t come from underground but rather… from above!”

“I don’t know where they came from, but their identity should be that of a wandering immortal. Come on, carry Shuxiang. Let’s go meet them.” With that, Di Jiang picked up Zhuchaí and began walking away. However, just as she stepped out of the door, there was a loud “thud,” and she collided head-on with someone.

Di Jiang fell to the ground, clutching her aching head. Wen Yao, with Shuxiang on her back, stood behind her, utterly shocked.

The other person also tumbled to the ground, dressed in plain Taoist robes. He walked against the light, and as the white glow faded, his figure gradually became clearer. Di Jiang finally recognized him—it was none other than Zhong Xu.

The group stared at each other, momentarily stunned.

“Master Zhong, what are you doing here?”

“Doctor Di…” Zhong Xu looked bewildered, muttering under his breath. He seemed genuinely surprised to see how quickly Di Jiang had recovered. Just days ago, she had been on the brink of death, yet now she stood before him lively and energetic—a truly astonishing sight.

Zhong Xu hurriedly got up and helped Di Jiang to her feet, stammering, “Doctor Di, what a coincidence. You’re here too.”

“What brings you here?” Di Jiang noticed Zhong Xu’s pale complexion and unsteady gait; he appeared completely drained of strength. She wanted to ask after his well-being, but before she could say anything, he clasped his hands together and hastily said, “I must have taken a wrong turn,” then turned and left. Di Jiang couldn’t catch up with him and watched his retreating figure with curiosity.

Seeing this, Wen Yao snorted disdainfully, sneering, “That Zhong Xu is so useless! First, he caused you serious injuries, and even after rescuing you, he didn’t dare visit you. Now that he’s seen you, he pretends not to know you. How infuriating!”

“Perhaps… he came to save Shuxiang too?”

“How could that be possible!” Wen Yao shook her head firmly, fuming. “I see him as nothing more than an empty shell. When faced with real experts, he knows nothing!”

“Oh? What do you mean by that?”

“You don’t know, Shopkeeper! These past few days, he tried every method to find you—even attempting astral projection—but what happened? Not only did he fail to locate you, but after ending his meditation, he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. Isn’t that laughable?”

“He coughed up blood?” Di Jiang frowned, visibly surprised.

“Yes! It took me forever to clean it up—he’s utterly useless!”

“He meant well.” Di Jiang sighed, finally understanding why Zhong Xu’s footing was unstable and his voice lacked vitality.

“But good intentions are useless! In the end, it was Prince Rui’an who saved you. Tell me, what use is he?” Wen Yao argued passionately. “In my opinion, Prince Rui’an is brilliant, talented, handsome, and shows you one hundred percent devotion!” Wen Yao continued grumbling all the way, giving Di Jiang a headache.

“Enough, stop talking,” Di Jiang massaged her temples, cutting her off. “If you like Wu Rui’an so much, I’ll give you to him.”

“No! I’m just joking, Shopkeeper! You can’t abandon me!” Wen Yao shook her head repeatedly, frightened into silence.

“For now, let’s not rush to find that immortal. We’ll return to the pharmacy first. After settling Shuxiang, go invite Zhong Xu over—no matter what method you use, make sure he comes.”

“Why should we invite him?”

“To have dinner!”

“Who’s cooking?”

Di Jiang gave her a sidelong glance, twirling the firewood stick in her hand, and chuckled, “With Zhuchaí like this, can he cook? Can you cook anything edible? Of course, I’ll be the one cooking!”

“Oh, so the shopkeeper knows how to cook… Then when will we meet the immortal you mentioned?”

“Another day. Inviting Zhong Xu to dinner is more important.”

“...” Wen Yao nodded blankly, pouted, and silently carried Shuxiang onto the carriage.

“Shopkeeper, when will Shuxiang wake up?” Wen Yao asked while driving, lifting the curtain to peek at Di Jiang, who was resting with her eyes closed inside the carriage.

Without even opening her eyes, Di Jiang replied indifferently, “Once we undo the immortal’s spell, both Shuxiang and Zhuchaí will be fine.”

“Who exactly is this person? How could they escape your notice!”

Di Jiang shook her head. “It was merely a momentary oversight on my part. Don’t worry.” As she spoke, she caught a whiff of fresh vegetables and opened her eyes to realize they had arrived at the eastern market.

“Oh no, stop quickly! I’ll buy some things at the market. You go back first. Remember to give Shuxiang a bath and cover him well so he doesn’t catch a cold.”

“Yes!”

The carriage came to a smooth stop by the roadside. Di Jiang hopped out and headed alone to the market to pick out ingredients. By the time she returned home, dusk had fallen. She then locked herself in the kitchen in the backyard, staying there for two whole hours.