Chapter Seventy-Seven: Wang Banjie—What? Fenglin Pavilion Is Also My Family’s Business?

That night, several malevolent spirits were dealt with by the members of the Shanhai Society, and order was restored to Moon Harbor. Yet, an unexpected incident unfolded at the disposal site near the docks in the southern part of the city.

The malevolent spirit known as “Borrowing Life Through Kowtows,” which had possessed the patriarch of the Zhang family, was finally subdued by the stewards after it had claimed the lives of several young members of the household. One of the duty officers, “Mountain Chaser,” wielded a wooden staff crowned with a lingzhi mushroom and stepped forward, ready to perform the secret technique handed down from Grandmaster Wu Sangong—the “Frightening Mushroom Method”—to end both Zhang’s life and that of the spirit within him.

This technique, also called “Striking Wood to Startle Mushrooms,” involved hammering the ends of the mushroom wood to stimulate rapid growth of the mycelium, provoking the mushrooms to sprout. A poet once wrote: “Layer upon layer of yellow clouds, mushrooms unseen; seek the master’s skill, blame not the heavens.” Once struck by the Frightening Mushroom Method, both the person and their soul would be devoured by specially cultivated mycelium, leaving no chance for the spirit’s resurgence. Even if new spirits emerged from folk tales inspired by its legend, they would no longer be linked to their predecessors.

Victory seemed assured, but the opportunity was shattered by the sudden intervention of Zhang’s young second wife, who threw herself onto her husband, thwarting the attack. “Murder! You’re disregarding human life! How can you exorcise the spirit directly without first banishing it from my husband’s body? Even if the spirit was drawn by his desire to live, according to the laws of Great Zhao, a father killing his child is not punishable by death.”

In grand households, disputes abound. The second wife, experienced from her years in the pleasure districts but lacking connections, had borne no children herself. Once her husband died, she would be powerless against the Zhang heirs and soon cast out, facing a bleak fate. Moreover, she was quite satisfied with her rejuvenated husband, now several years younger and vigorous. While the Zhang heirs had fled, she continued to shield the culprit with fierce determination.

No matter her motives, the stewards could not, under the gaze of the public, kill the foolish woman along with the spirit. During the scuffle, she managed to tear off the immobilizing talisman from Zhang’s body, allowing the spirit, “Borrowing Life Through Kowtows,” to escape, vanishing into the night with a swish.

A few breaths later, in Osmanthus Alley, just two streets away, an elderly man surnamed Wang suddenly awoke from sleep. He scanned the room, noting the steel blades and iron spears hanging on the walls, evidence of a military household. On the desk an open family genealogy rested, with the youngest generation’s name plainly written at the end: “Wang Fugui.”

…

The next day, before dawn, Wang Cheng bade farewell to his elder sister Axiao, who lived in the same courtyard, and hurried out. He first visited the Yu Tongshun Bank, run by the Yuan, Heng, Li, and Zhen generations, uttered the secret code, received his token, and collected the first batch of assets his father left him.

Thirty thousand taels’ worth of property was mere pocket change to his father, but to Wang Cheng, it was a fortune enough to launch a business venture. Among these were several prime-location shops entrusted to brokers under contract, yielding steady monthly income; the brokers collected the rents. Coincidentally, all these shops were located on the antiques street where Fenglin Zhai stood, instantly making Wang Cheng a prominent “Half-Street Wang!” He effortlessly shed the label of “ruffian.”

In this era, those without land were “wanderers,” those without property were “vagrants,” and those without either were “ruffians.” Until today, Wang Cheng, who owned nothing, fit the bill exactly. What excited him most was that his master’s pawnshop, Fenglin Zhai, was among his holdings!

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It was perhaps due to years of wandering that the old man, despite his wealth, disliked investing in real estate, leading Wang Cheng, by a stroke of fate, to become his master’s landlord. After all, everyone at Fenglin Zhai worked for him in some capacity, their jobs secure no matter the season. “Master, from now on, we keep matters separate. I call you ‘Master,’ and you call me ‘Master Wang!’ Haha…” Just thinking about it made him gleeful.

Beyond that, there was a paper mill, a smithy, and a modest shipyard, Thousand Boats Dock. These businesses had accumulated several thousand taels in cash at Yu Tongshun, which Wang Cheng was now free to draw upon. The shipyard held the most value, capable of building small and medium-sized three-masted fishing boats. He asked Zhang Wen, and learned that their “Zhang Fushun” vessel was built at Thousand Boats Dock.

Wang Cheng inspected his new assets and took immediate control of the shipyard, inviting the nearly sixty-year-old craftsman Liu Honest, a seventh-rank official planning to retire there, and a group of artisans to a meal, making acquaintance. With the credentials of a disciple from the Duty Hall and having used rare goods to verify the craftsmen’s backgrounds, he could confidently build the envisioned Ship Escort Bureau around this core.

In the afternoon, he hastened to the Shanhai Society’s storeroom with cash in hand, seeking a prime material for cultivation. To his disappointment, while there was no shortage of snake sloughs used in water cultivation, none met his standards.

On the third day, he went to visit “River-Turning Rat” Han Zechang, shamelessly gathering all the materials needed for practicing the Ocean-Crossing Star-Pulling Technique from the Han household. After a sumptuous dinner, Han Zechang personally and warmly saw him to the door, treating him like a distinguished guest.

“If you’re thin-skinned, even if you’ve saved someone’s life, you’ll likely never ask for a favor in return, fearing it’s trading on gratitude. But that’s a grave mistake! Relationships must be used, and outside help must be borrowed. Connections are only strengthened through mutual assistance and frequent contact. Why are rural kinships so strong, but city folk are drifting apart? It’s because in the countryside, you can’t harvest crops, build houses, or hold weddings and funerals without neighbors’ help. In the city, a household—or even a lone individual—can live well, so there’s no need to maintain such ties, not even between spouses. Ultimately, it’s not a matter of affection, but economics.”

Wang Cheng thanked the generous River-Turning Rat, and his salutation changed accordingly: “Uncle Han, please wait. Once Moon Harbor’s malevolent aura is cleared, I’ll host a feast for you and Tower Lady to properly honor my apprenticeship.”

“Haha, whether you invite me or not, I’ll bring Shushu along and shamelessly join the party.”

Leaving the Han household, Wang Cheng inventoried his collected materials:

“A complete celestial star chart for setting up the Vast Heaven Manifestation Altar. It’s not as fine as Master’s, but it’s a rare treasure money can’t buy, and more than adequate for mid-tier use. Two candles made from the precious fat of merfolk. These can burn for seven days during rituals, and even a century without extinguishing. Of course, just as wife cakes contain no wives, merfolk candles contain no merfolk—the raw material comes from a peculiar species of whale.

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The talisman papers are top-grade, created through the Golden Armor Divine Yellow Talisman Method and consecrated for over three years in the thriving ancestral temple of the water gathering lineage, thoroughly imbued by incense… Now, only the main cultivation material remains undecided—a snake slough with spiritual essence.

This time, he managed to obtain a half-century-old green ring sea snake from the Han family. Having lived so long, it was on the verge of becoming a spirit creature; it was usable, but still somewhat lacking. The hidden taboos of a technique, the nuances of selecting cultivation materials, how to borrow external power—all these are unwritten but profound knowledge that only hands-on practice reveals.

Wang Cheng, heir of both the Water Gathering Wang family and the Shanhai Society, naturally sought perfection. “Both lineages say the main material for the Ocean-Crossing Star-Pulling Technique is crucial, affecting the quality of the ‘Dragon Robe.’ Some special symbolic varieties can even grant officials extra skills. This green ring snake, aside from its venom, is common along the southeastern coast, its age insufficient, its spiritual aura ordinary.

If only I had a ‘Beauty Snake’ that could call out a person’s name, I’d choose it without hesitation. If all else fails, perhaps I can search the antiques street? The odds aren’t good—snake sloughs are widely used in water cultivation, but high-quality specimens are rare. Or, I could start with a lesser one for entry-level use, and upgrade when I reach the mid-tier second layer—the ‘Four Symbols.’ By then, if I’m still alive, I will have helped Lady Yan through her crisis, and with Sister Axiao’s status as temple attendant, I could borrow her ‘intimate garment’…

Uh, I’d probably be beaten to death; even Axiao couldn’t save me then.”

As he walked, the white-headed eagle Aji circling overhead let out a cry. Wang Cheng stopped abruptly. Night had already fallen; the streets were deserted, but on the road he had to take to return to Fenglin Zhai, a hunched figure appeared.

Hands and feet thick, clad in black cloth, hair nearly all white—clearly an elderly man. A glance with his inner eye revealed this was someone familiar. When he had returned to Moon Harbor as “Wang Fugui,” he had specifically visited several distant Wang relatives, among them this eldest patriarch.

Now, Wang Cheng saw at once that “he” was not human!

Malevolent Spirit: Borrowing Life Through Kowtows…

The spirit that, under his master’s command, should have been dealt with, had attached itself to Wang Fugui’s family and now sought him out.

When Wang Cheng spotted the figure, they were about thirty paces apart, with nothing in between.

An aged voice spoke: “Fugui, be kind and lend your lifespan to your great-grandfather.”

Thud!

Without a hint of hesitation, the Wang patriarch knelt.

Bang! Bang! Bang! He kowtowed three times, loud and clear, toward Wang Cheng.

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