All day long, the Peach Blossom Shrine bustled with incense, as if it weren’t midwinter but a spring day in full bloom.
By late afternoon, with the shrine far from the county seat, the crowd thinned, people returning to the city or nearby villages.
After a hectic day, even as ghosts, An Bo and Qian Bo were panting with exhaustion.
Shen Ying’s form appeared in the shrine, and with a wave of her hand, two wisps of incense qi drifted from the Peach Blossom Fairy statue, entering An Bo and Qian Bo’s bodies.
They inhaled deeply, as if swallowing a supreme tonic, their spirits instantly revived.
Xiaocui looked on with envy, and Shen Ying, generous as ever, granted her a wisp too.
“Thank you, Madam!”
Turning, Shen Ying’s gaze locked onto Lu Zheng, her eyes practically glowing.
“Lu Lang~”
Lu Zheng grinned, “Looks like we built the right shrine.”
Ignoring the maids and old servants nearby, Shen Ying pounced on him.
“Thank you, Lu Lang~”
Lu Zheng, feeling her lithe, graceful figure, chuckled, “Why thank me? You earned this with your merits.”
“Without your *Peach Blossom Song*, would the shrine have this much incense?”
“So, how do you plan to thank me?” Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow, his look suggestive.
Shen Ying smiled coyly, leaned up, and kissed him, their lips and tongues entwining.
Then, Lu Zheng felt a rich surge of incense qi flood his mind, settling in a corner of his consciousness.
After a long moment, they parted.
“Lu Lang, I need to refine this incense qi. Hurry home and cultivate too.”
Shen Ying pushed him away, licked her lips with a seductive smile, and… vanished…
Xiaocui giggled and scampered after Shen Ying, leaving An Bo and Qian Bo to tidy the shrine’s candles and papers, pretending they saw nothing.
Lu Zheng, “…”
Start a fire and don’t put it out, we’re not friends anymore!
…
For the next few days, nothing much happened.
In the modern world, Lu Zheng bought low-proof alcohol and steeped lingzhi and an eighty-or-ninety-year-old ginseng in it.
He’d racked his brain but couldn’t figure out how to get his parents to eat lingzhi, so he fell back on this old trick.
He’d say the herbs were pricey, and even if they balked at the cost, they’d drink it reluctantly.
As long as they kept drinking, they’d see results.
And then…
That was it, keep drinking, keep nourishing.
With New Year’s approaching, he’d bring two bottles home.
He also contacted Liu Zhenming, who introduced him to someone experienced in appraising herbs.
With Liu Zhenming in tow, Lu Zheng took the old mountain ginseng for appraisal. The verdict:
One thousand two hundred eighty grams! Three hundred years old!
Great tonic!
Ginseng king!
Life-saving treasure!
Revives the dead, mends bones!
Priceless!
Invaluable!
A string of titles was heaped on the ginseng, along with lavish praise for Lu Zheng.
Liu Zhenming’s eyes gleamed, clearly tempted, “Mr. Lu, are you keeping this ginseng or selling it?”
If he could get a piece to steep in wine, he might live ten years longer!
Lu Zheng blinked, noting the crowd’s greedy stares.
“Get me an appraisal certificate, I’m putting it up for auction.”
Though he’d expected this, Liu Zhenming felt a pang, “Really auctioning it? If you used this to curry favour with those old tycoons, it’d be worth more than auction proceeds.”
Lu Zheng nodded firmly, thinking, exactly why I need to offload this hot potato.
With so many knowing he had a three-hundred-year-old ginseng king, if he didn’t sell it fast, all sorts of trouble would come knocking.
The appraiser issued the certificate, reluctantly watching Lu Zheng leave with the ginseng.
After insuring it and handing it to the auction house, Lu Zheng was done with it, just waiting for the payout.
…
Daily life saw Lu Zheng teaching Lin Wan martial arts in the modern world, tracking Liu Yifan’s case, and in the ancient world, honing his medical and acupuncture skills at Benevolent Heart Hall, growing ever more in sync with Liu Qingyan.
In cultivation, boosted by incense qi and fate’s light, Lu Zheng’s progress soared.
One word: exhilarating!
After exhausting the incense qi in his mind, Shen Ying offered more, but he firmly declined, urging her to use it herself.
…
Half a month later, Liu Yifan’s case was fast-tracked to sentencing.
“So quick?”
“Liu Yifan was desperate, he’d confess today and want sentencing tomorrow.”
“What’s the verdict?”
“The suspect was proven to have intermittent mental illness but was mentally sound during the crimes, thus criminally liable. Given his voluntary surrender, poor mental and physical state, he received a lenient sentence: fifteen years imprisonment, one year suspended, and medical treatment under supervision.”
Lu Zheng sipped water, asking calmly, “Intentional murder, no death penalty?”
Huang Xiumin shook her head, “He claimed he was mentally unstable at the time.”
Lu Zheng nearly spat his water.
The guy had the gall to say anything.
“So, that’s it?”
“Yup,” Huang Xiumin nodded, “That’s it.”
“Good enough,” Lin Wan nodded, squeezing Lu Zheng’s hand, “One year suspended, then fifteen years inside. Even with reductions, he’s out in eight or nine years.”
“So he’s already in treatment?”
“Yeah.”
After updating them on Liu Yifan’s case, Huang Xiumin was thrilled to see Lin Wan walking unaided.
“Double good news today!”
Lin Wan nodded, “One more week, after New Year’s, I’m back on duty.”
“Great! I’ll be waiting!”
…
That night, Lu Zheng, holding the qi-seeking talisman, arrived at Liu Yifan’s hospital.
“Jingle, jingle, jingle…”
“I thought about it, and one nightmare curse seemed too tame, so let’s keep going, let you savour more of the otherworldly people’s hard work and ingenuity.”
Using the ghost child as a conduit, Lu Zheng lifted the nightmare curse from Liu Yifan, replacing it with the Yang-Melting Curse, Gold-Dissolving Curse, and Yin-Gathering Curse.
Since Liu Yifan’s parents were there, Lu Zheng kindly included them, casting the curses on them too.
Family should stick together, right?
Gazing at the light from a hospital window, Lu Zheng smiled faintly, “Alright, our grudge is settled. If you survive these three curses, I’ll let you off, no more moves.”
The ghost child returned, stored in the brass bell, and Lu Zheng unlocked a shared bike, pedalling back leisurely, grabbing a grilled gluten skewer from a night stall on the way.
With that, the matter was done.
