Reunion at Forty-Eight

In a daze, she suddenly saw the little boy finish collecting the cloth with the bag and dart out. Qingyin quickly shrank aside, hiding by the door. The child was so absorbed in his work that he didn't even notice someone lurking nearby.

He proceeded to kick open the doors of each storeroom, sweeping the gold and silver vault, the jewel vault, and the antique vault clean. When he entered the medicine storeroom and gathered all the herbs, Qingyin could no longer contain herself. She strode out, walked straight up behind the boy who was tying up the bag, and with a swift motion, snatched the magical bag from his hands.

The act of snatching was so absurdly simple that Qingyin was stunned. The boy turned, his crimson eyes wide with terror, his expression even more bewildered than hers. They stared at each other in silence for a moment; the boy’s eyes began to redden, his mouth drooped, and he spoke with a sob in his voice, “What are you doing? Give it back to me!”

Qingyin stammered, “I… I can’t give it back. I need the medicine inside.”

The boy protested urgently, “No, I have to take it back as payment!” He flailed his small hands, trying to snatch it back.

Qingyin raised the bag high and stepped back—this child possessed uncanny strength; she had to be cautious. “This belongs to someone else. What right do you have to steal it?”

His face flushed bright red. “I’m not a thief! This is payment promised to our Third Master by a woman named Fang Ai. I’m just here to collect what’s owed to him.”

“Fang Ai?” So, the elder who once helped Fang Ai become the evil curse had sent someone to claim the “entire Dong family fortune” she promised. Yet, Qingyin desperately needed the medicines in the bag. She tried to reason, “Can I just take part of the medicine, perhaps?”

The boy pouted, shaking his head vigorously. “No. Not a single piece of the Dong family’s wealth can be left behind—Third Master’s orders.”

He was so stubborn that Qingyin lost patience. Motu was waiting for her to return and heal his wounds. She tucked the magical bag into her arms, snorted, and turned to leave. “Don’t blame me for being rude, then.”

The boy cried out, “No, give it back!” He rushed to grab her, but Qingyin shot a Blood Cuckoo Feather Arrow at his feet, blasting a deep hole in the blue stone floor, sending shards flying. The boy, terrified, flipped backward and landed sobbing on the ground.

Bullying a child like this made Qingyin uneasy, but she was pressed for time and couldn’t afford compassion. She urged her cloud-leaf mount and soared three feet off the ground, racing away. Behind her, the boy chased relentlessly, wailing, “Sister, Third Master will kill me! Please give me back the magical bag, please…”

As she flew, Qingyin shook her head and sighed. “Sorry… But why does ‘Third Master’ sound so familiar?”

Her doubts were just rising when a fierce gust suddenly struck! Unable to stop her momentum, she fired a Blood Cuckoo Feather Arrow, twisted her waist, and rolled aside, but still felt a sharp pain in her shoulder—something had grazed her.

She crashed to the ground, chest tight. As she caught her breath, she saw a pair of cloth-shod feet, standing pigeon-toed before her.

From above came an angry shout. “Where did you come from, little thief, daring to steal from Third Master She?”

Third Master She?

Qingyin suddenly remembered why “Third Master” and the boy’s copper bell sounded so familiar. This was the old serpent demon, Third Master She, who had stolen Yuni from her in the Lin Mansion and made her ransom it with her family treasures. So the elder who struck a deal with Fang Ai was him. She should have guessed—such a greedy, calculating, sinister merchant could only be Third Master She.

She slowly got up. “Third Master She, it has been a long time.”

He squinted at her, then finally recognized her. “Ah, you wretched girl—it’s you! The orphan from the Zhou family!”

“That’s right.”

He asked, “Why are you here? Taking advantage of chaos to loot?” His yellow eyes swept over the bag in her hand. With a flex of his withered fingers, the magical bag, tightly held by Qingyin, suddenly came alive, slipping from her grasp and flying into his hand.

Seeing the bag snatched away, Qingyin’s heart burned with anxiety. She raised her hand, aiming at him. “Third Master She, give me back the bag, or I won’t hold back!”

He saw her gesture and recalled the flash of red light earlier, stepping back in alarm. “Could you have obtained the Blood Cuckoo Feather?!”

“I have!” she growled. “So you’d best beware!”

A look of fear mixed with greed crossed his face. “The Blood Cuckoo Feather is not only deadly, but when ignited it can summon its master… Girl, where did you get such a treasure?”

Qingyin was startled by “summon its master.” Motu never mentioned this function of the feather. But she had no time for that now. “Third Master She, I’m not here for treasure. I need the medicine in that bag to save a life. Didn’t you have me investigate my family’s heirlooms in exchange for Yuni? Magistrate Dong’s household is deeply connected to my family’s massacre, and many of the medicines in that bag were looted from my home by Dong. So I’m just reclaiming what’s mine. Tell me, how is Yuni?”

He didn’t answer about Yuni, but asked in confusion, “This Magistrate Dong… connected to the Zhou family massacre?”

“Yes. Dong was likely a subordinate of the mastermind.”

Third Master She looked bewildered, scanning the surroundings, then his face changed dramatically. They stood in the bamboo grove clearing, where a giant dead tree lay on the ground, surrounded by dead giant rats, the air heavy with a scorched stench. When he made the deal with Fang Ai, he thought it merely human grudges and cared little for details, turning Fang Ai into an evil curse. Now his gaze fell on the giant tree, and he recoiled in horror. “Infant Spirit Yinwood!”

Qingyin asked, “What?”

He shook his head, aghast. “This kind of Yinwood feeds on infant blood, forming demonic fruit shaped like babies—one fruit is equivalent to a century’s cultivation for a demon. As far as I know, in the past thousand years, only the Sea King of Oblivion possessed such trees. But five centuries ago, a great battle of gods and demons destroyed the entire Sea of Oblivion, turning it to boiling magma, then black wasteland. All its denizens and the Sea King were melted, their ashes fused into the stone. This Infant Spirit Yinwood should not exist in the world. Unless… unless…” His face turned sickly green, voice trembling, “This is bad—trouble is coming!”

His hand shook as he tossed the magical bag back to Qingyin. “I want none of these treasures—take them! Remember, if anyone asks what happened here, never mention my name. Say you did it all!” The old scoundrel was shameless in distancing himself.

Qingyin held the bag, baffled. “Eh?”

Just then, the boy came running down the bamboo path—finally catching up. Spotting Third Master She from afar, he cheered, waving his short legs as he rushed over. “Third Master, Third Master, that woman stole the magical bag—get it back, get it back!”

Third Master She turned, pointed at the boy, and barked, “Silence!”

The boy froze, staring blankly at him. Third Master She’s brows rose. “I’ve raised you for five years and you’re still useless! Other serpent children are ruthless and sharp, but you—give you a few tasks and you ruin them all! Sent you to collect payment, and I had to follow in case you botched it—and sure enough, you lost it again! But…” He paused, “Good thing I came, or worse trouble would have followed.”

The boy was left stunned and tearful by Third Master She’s scolding. Two lines of aggrieved tears streamed down his cheeks.

Third Master She stomped in frustration. “See? Just a few words and you cry! What serpent child cries at the drop of a hat? I’ve aged over a hundred years from worrying about you these five years—all your fault!” He swung his finger around and pointed it accusingly at the innocent Qingyin. “It’s all because of you—you ruined my serpent child!”

Qingyin suddenly realized, looked at the boy with delight. “You mean—he’s—he’s Yuni?”

Third Master She snapped, “Isn’t this useless brat right here! You wretched girl, you’re a harbinger of misfortune—every deal I make with you ends in loss! Listen: I don’t want Dong’s fortune, it’s yours; I don’t want your family’s treasures, just don’t let me see you again; this troublesome boy, I don’t want him either—he’s yours!” He grabbed Yuni by the collar and tossed him toward Qingyin, then swept away in a whirlwind of dust.

Yuni panicked, crying as he chased him, “Third Master, wait for me…”

Qingyin hurried to pull him back. “Yuni, don’t chase him—come with me.”

He flailed his claws at her. “Who are you? I don’t know you, I won’t go with you, waaa…”

Qingyin couldn’t explain, so she held onto him. In their tussle, a pale green shirt was pulled from his arms. Yuni lunged to snatch it back. “Give it back! Give it back! You give it back!”

Qingyin held the shirt out of reach and asked, “What is this?”

He finally got it back, collapsed, hugging the shirt and sobbing. Between tears, he whimpered, “This was left to me by my sister. If you tear it, I’ll hit you!”

Qingyin crouched beside him, softly said, “Let me guess—when Third Master She took you away, you had just finished bathing, and your sister wrapped you in her own shirt because you were naked. Is that right?”

Yuni raised tearful eyes, puzzled. “How do you know?”

“Because I am your sister, you little fool.”

*

The author’s note: Third Master She doesn’t want to hear another word.

The forty-eighth chapter of "Half-Immortal Seal" is complete—Reunion, finished!