Chapter 14: A Marvelous Art

He could actually tell?

But, during the previous visit to the Celestial Palace, those ancestral gods didn’t seem to notice that he had opened his spiritual apertures.

Lin Guichen’s thoughts swirled, but outwardly he feigned confusion and replied, “Spiritual apertures? Did I open them?”

“Though there’s no blood relation between us... with the help of the marriage contract, I can still confirm it: were you... born with... a keen perception?” Chen Muzhi asked haltingly.

“Was I? I’m not sure myself...” Lin Guichen pretended to be perplexed.

After all, if someone was born with keen senses but rarely interacted with others, it would be hard to realize their own uniqueness.

“It seems... you were born with... two spiritual apertures...” Chen Muzhi stared at Lin Guichen, suppressing his pain, and asked with a frown, “You haven’t yet entered the path, but have you ever... worshipped any gods or spirits?”

“Worshipped gods and spirits?” This time, Lin Guichen was genuinely bewildered.

He had never even heard of such a thing.

Chen Muzhi slowly explained, “You are still young... with your dual spiritual apertures... once you worship a god, there’s a chance, however small... that a deity might visit you in your dreams...”

“Visited by a deity in dreams?” Lin Guichen shook his head. “I’ve never worshipped, nor dreamed of any deity.”

A faint smile appeared on Chen Muzhi’s pain-stricken face. “It’s good you haven’t worshipped... otherwise, once you’re claimed by a god, unless you belong to the same lineage as I do, I wouldn’t be able to pass on my skills to you...”

“You want to teach me your skills?”

Lin Guichen, completely confused, asked, “What do you mean by ‘same lineage’?”

“You’ll have to figure that out yourself...” Chen Muzhi replied slowly. “Suppressing my fury makes it... hard to speak...”

Lin Guichen had no choice but to set aside his doubts for now and asked, “I’m not your descendant by blood, so why do you want to pass on your skills to me?”

Chen Muzhi fell silent for a moment, then suddenly burst out cursing, “Because I suspect that old bastard is up to no good and might be plotting against my daughter Yu’er! Ever since I became this damned yin spirit, my influence on the living world has been too feeble, and I can’t do anything about that old beast!”

He certainly became much more fluent when cursing, Lin Guichen thought to himself.

Casting a glance at the ancestral gods behind Chen Muzhi, in the Golden Crow Sun Furnace, he reminded, “Aren’t you afraid they’ll hear you and tell Third Master Chen?”

“Afraid of what?” Chen Muzhi spat, then snorted, “I’ve already shielded their senses with my spiritual power. It costs me, so don’t waste my time.”

So it could be done like that? Lin Guichen raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Kid, I know you want that old bastard dead too, don’t you?” Chen Muzhi let his anger take over and said hatefully, “I can teach you my skills, but you have to swear: if you discover he’s plotting against Yu’er, you’ll kill him for me; once he’s dead, you don’t have to follow her in death, just stay by her side, and whenever she asks for yang energy, you mustn’t refuse—just help her stabilize her soul.”

Lin Guichen pondered for a moment and asked, “And if I swear, you’ll trust me? What if I go back on my word?”

“Break your word? Hahaha...” Chen Muzhi’s laughter was filled with rage. “You really know nothing! If you swear before a yin spirit and ask for aid, once the spirit responds, if you dare break your oath, not only will you lose the inheritance, you’ll forever lose the share of spiritual energy bound to it! Don’t you even know that?”

“So that’s how it works...” Lin Guichen was enlightened.

So, swearing before a yin spirit and asking for help was like forming a contract: once the spirit agreed, the pact took effect. If you broke it, not only would you lose the inheritance, your own spiritual energy would be forfeit as punishment.

Just like a devotee praying in a temple and promising any price for divine help—if the god delivers and the devotee reneges, punishment would naturally follow.

“Why choose me?” Lin Guichen asked, “I heard ancestral gods lose less spiritual energy when passing on skills to their own bloodline?”

“Why so many questions?” Chen Muzhi grumbled, “You sure talk a lot for a man—just like an old woman...”

He continued angrily, “I’ll explain just this once, so listen up!”

Lin Guichen’s mouth twitched.

He strongly suspected that this irascibility was just a cover, making talking easier despite the pain caused by his suppressed rage.

“If you were just a regular one-aperture weakling, I wouldn’t want to pass my skills to you either. But with your dual apertures, my loss isn’t so great!” Chen Muzhi barked, “And that old bastard doesn’t know you’ve opened your apertures—if you catch him off guard, there’s a real chance you can take him out! But he’s wary of anyone closely tied to my bloodline, you see?”

Lin Guichen understood.

His dual apertures were only part of the reason; what mattered more was his suitability in terms of identity.

“But even with the element of surprise, could I really kill him?”

Lin Guichen pondered for a moment and said, “Third Master Chen seems formidable—he can contend with that so-called Old Drum, and if I inherit just one skill from you, is that really enough to kill him?”

“You’re nearly dead and you’re still worrying? Besides, I plan to give you not one skill, but two!” Chen Muzhi snapped.

“Two?” Lin Guichen was taken aback.

Still, he shook his head. “He can duel that Old Drum, who knows several strange arts; surely he has some of his own. Even with two skills, can I really match him?”

“What are you afraid of?” Chen Muzhi laughed angrily. “No matter how bizarre the arts, he’s still human! All humans bleed, all humans die! With my marksmanship, you’ll have your chance!”

“Marksmanship?” Lin Guichen was puzzled. “You mean I can kill him with martial skills alone? Besides, my right leg is crippled—I can’t wield a spear.”

“Martial skills? Marksmanship! Guns! Not martial arts! Haven’t you seen the firearms the Westerners brought from Xizhou?” Chen Muzhi barked.

Lin Guichen was stunned.

So it was that kind of gun?

His former self rarely went out and knew little of the world; he’d hardly heard of firearms, let alone seen them.

This world seemed to be in a time of transition; the feudal era had just ended and things were changing fast.

“Whether you understand or not, after I pass these skills on, even if you’re the dumbest fool, you’ll become a sharpshooter!” Chen Muzhi said impatiently. “Stop wasting time—being roasted like this hurts like hell. If you agree, swear now; if not, fend for yourself!”

Lin Guichen thought for a moment. “I agree, but I have a request.”

“Spit it out!” Chen Muzhi had no patience left for anger.

“I want to have another choice.”

“Say it straight.” Chen Muzhi was irritable.

After a brief pause, Lin Guichen said, “If Third Master Chen really tries to harm your daughter and I’m certain I can kill him, I’ll do it. But if I’m not sure I can, and only have a chance to escape, then I want to choose to run first.”

Chen Muzhi eyed him suspiciously. “That old bastard wants to keep you at the ancestral estate—how would you escape? You alone?”

“What if?” Lin Guichen looked at him.

Chen Muzhi snorted. “Then you’d better take Yu’er with you! I don’t want my daughter unable to return home. Even if you run, if you ever get the chance to kill that old bastard, you must come back and finish the job, understand?”

After a moment’s thought, Lin Guichen said, “Alright.”

He believed that, with the help of the little Daoist and the Daoist master, as he grew stronger, he might yet have a chance to kill Third Master Chen in the future.

No need to risk everything now.

“Fine, then swear it!” Chen Muzhi snorted.

Lin Guichen took a deep breath and spoke:

“I swear: as long as Chen Muzhi is willing to pass on to me the skills needed to kill Third Master Chen, I am willing, when I am confident enough, to kill Third Master Chen; but if I am not, I will prioritize escape, taking Chen Muzhi’s daughter Chen Linyu with me, and will act to kill Third Master Chen only when I am certain of success in the future.”

As his words fell, Chen Muzhi’s shadowy form suddenly burst into flames.

“Very well, I accept.” In the blazing fire, Chen Muzhi placed his hand atop Lin Guichen’s head.

In that instant, Lin Guichen felt two scorching currents surge into his mind, then spread throughout his body.

At the same time, a flood of memories surfaced; it felt as though he’d practiced marksmanship for more than a decade, utterly familiar with firearms. When those memories faded, an even greater surge followed.

He was flooded with knowledge of all kinds of thieving techniques, keen observational skills, tricks with small knives hidden between his fingers, and much more.

Even his arms and body began to subtly change.

After a long while, Lin Guichen opened his eyes, a bit dazed. “Marksmanship? And thievery?”

“Kid, these two skills are meant to be used together,” Chen Muzhi explained, his energy flagging and the fire around him dimming. “The art of the quick hand is for drawing, hiding, and reloading a gun—it makes your marksmanship more stable and sudden. That’s a family inheritance; the gun skills were passed to me after my captain became a yin spirit.”

Lin Guichen understood.

With these two skills in his head, ready for use at any moment, he naturally grasped their powerful synergy.

“Pity—a single spiritual aperture can only accept one skill. I can give you only two inheritances.” With his light fading, Chen Muzhi’s anger lessened; he spoke more fluently and seemed to return to his true self, gentler and calmer.

“If only you had three spiritual apertures,” Chen Muzhi sighed, “I could give you all three of my skills, and with enough spiritual power, you could fully master my strange arts. That would give you a real chance to kill that old devil.”

“Three apertures? Strange arts?” Lin Guichen’s heart thudded, waves of excitement surging within.

So, with three spiritual apertures and sufficient spiritual power, three skills could be forged into a strange art?

But he had the Spirit-Opening Pills!

With four more pills, he could have three apertures!

Still, this was too unusual—he couldn’t say it aloud.

“How does one open a new spiritual aperture?” he ventured.

“You want to try? Fine.” Chen Muzhi glanced at him. “As far as I know, there are basically two ways. One: some legendary natural treasures, but those are so rare you probably won’t find any. Two: go to a temple devoted to a god—especially one bustling with incense—and worship. If a god favors you and visits your dreams, imprinting that image in your heart, you can meditate on it, strengthen your spiritual power, and perhaps open a new aperture.”

He looked Lin Guichen over. “With your natural talent for two apertures, you might just catch a god’s attention.”

Worship, then dream of a god?

Lin Guichen mused—so this was how to enhance spiritual power.

Chen Muzhi added, “Of course, you’ve received my inheritance, and since I’m buried in the Sun Furnace, you now belong to the Solar Palace lineage. Only the gods of the Solar Palace will respond to you, unless you’re willing to forfeit your inheritance. Otherwise, only worship gods of the Solar Palace.”

Lin Guichen nodded in understanding, then asked, “Which gods belong to the Solar Palace lineage?”

“There are plenty of gods and spirits in every lineage; find out for yourself, it’s easy to tell.”

Chen Muzhi, now depleted, sighed, “But even if you do manage to meditate on a god, opening a new aperture is rare. Most such meditation just boosts spiritual power; opening an aperture depends entirely on fate.”

He sighed again. “For example, I was born with two apertures, and I’ve meditated on the Flaming Mazu for twenty years, my spiritual power has grown, but I never opened a third aperture.”

Lin Guichen pondered deeply.

Suddenly, he realized something and asked, “Don’t you have three skills? How do you have only two apertures?”

“One of them wasn’t inherited—I developed it myself,” Chen Muzhi replied. “And even the inherited ones—if you master them on your own, you won’t lose them, but that takes a long time.”

Lin Guichen understood.

“So, it’s very hard to open a new aperture?”

“Yes,” Chen Muzhi nodded. “That’s why I said it’s a matter of fate. If you manage it, it would be a great thing.”

He was a little wistful. “The more apertures you open, the more vivid the details you see when meditating on a god, and the stronger the effect on your spiritual power. I once met a genius who opened five apertures—truly remarkable...”

Five apertures made a genius?

Lin Guichen couldn’t help but look forward to the future.

If he took enough Spirit-Opening Pills and opened nine apertures, what kind of genius would he be?

“You can go now—I must return,” Chen Muzhi said. “If you ever open a third aperture and reach twenty years’ worth of spiritual power, I’ll pass my strange art to you...”

With that, he turned into a ray of fire and merged back into the great sun at the rear of the Golden Crow Sun Furnace.

The flames gradually faded, and the sun itself dimmed.

Lin Guichen took one last look and, without lingering, turned and walked away.

The next time he came, it would be to inherit Chen Muzhi’s strange art.

He hadn’t gone far when he suddenly turned to the little Daoist child who had been following at a distance and asked, “By the way, I belong to the Daoist sect—will accepting a yin spirit’s inheritance affect me?”

The little Daoist walked along behind him with hands clasped behind her back, lazily replying, “How could it possibly affect you? As long as those so-called gods don’t mind each other, and you have enough apertures, you can inherit as many skills as you like. However...”

“Worshipping gods is your business, but...” she suddenly smiled, her eyes narrowing. “As a disciple of my Daoist sect, you’d best find a way to pay your respects to the Daoist Patriarch.”