"King Yan casts the hex," Yun Ziliang had instructed Zhou Xuan before he began Dragon Seeking and fortune-telling, emphasizing this taboo.

According to Yun Ziliang, if it was an ordinary client and Zhou Xuan was dissatisfied with them, he could outright refuse to do the fortune-telling.

For instance, take Xu Qing—if Zhou Xuan was unwilling to accept the job, he could simply decline it, and it wouldn't affect the progress of the Dragon Seeking.

However, if a client uttered the phrase, "King Yan casts the hex, Young Master must not delay," then no matter what, that particular reading had to be completed.

The business had to be accepted without fail.

Yun Ziliang referred to such clients as "unusual clients."

But who could have imagined that this so-called "unusual client" would turn out to be Zhao Wuya?

"Ya Zi, are you putting on an act?"

Zhou Xuan was highly skeptical.

After all, when Yun Ziliang had explained the concept of "unusual clients," Ya Zi had also been present at the scene. If he'd overheard and now decided to prank Zhou Xuan, it wasn't entirely out of the question.

"Master, hear my woes in the Red Dust. Who am I? Where do I wish to go? To err is human. If wrongs have been committed, how shall they be mended?"

Zhao Wuya's mysterious ramblings left Zhou Xuan completely baffled. Each sentence seemed to carry an underlying significance,

and paired with his current state—rolling his eyes incessantly so that the black pupils were tucked into the upper rims of his eye sockets, nearly invisible—it looked entirely abnormal.

So much so that Zhou Xuan's doubt was dispelled. Perhaps Zhao Wuya really was acting strangely.

Zhou Xuan didn't interrupt "Zhao Wuya's" monologue. Watching his ceaselessly quivering eyes reminded Zhou Xuan of someone possessed—two competing consciousnesses struggling for control of a single body. When Mu Hua's mind had been tainted by the Mother of Hundred Demons, her condition resembled Zhao Wuya's current state.

"Master of true Dragon Seeking, I trust your hex is never wrong. I only pray you'll divine my future as soon as possible. When the hex is completed... there shall... there shall... be great recompense..."

"Zhao Wuya" almost broke his teeth clenching them before he managed to finish his sentence.

As soon as he finished speaking, the real Zhao Wuya regained consciousness. He looked like a drunken man recovering from a blackout, scanning his surroundings to figure out where he was.

"Huh? How did I end up here?"

After exclaiming in confusion, Zhao Wuya turned to Zhou Xuan and asked, "Did I fall asleep just now? They always say you shouldn't do continuous Dragon Seeking—it's too much work. Even a young guy like me is starting to feel delirious."

Zhou Xuan wanted to laugh—he really did—but he couldn't.

There are many laughable things in this world, as long as they don't happen to you...

"Ya Zi, are you truly unaware, or just pretending to be?"

"Unaware of what?" Zhao Wuya asked, utterly clueless.

"You just said to me, 'King Yan casts the hex, Young Master must not delay,'" Zhou Xuan said.

"Did I really?"

"If you don't believe me, ask your donkey."

"Well, in that case, I'll really ask it."

Zhao Wuya gently tugged on his donkey's ear and muttered quietly to it, as though genuinely questioning it.

"A-ohh... A-ohh... A-ohh..."

The black donkey brayed as if giving Zhao Wuya some kind of report.

Gradually, Zhao Wuya's expression changed. His eyelids drooped as he muttered to himself, "Turns out I did say those words. What's going on here? I don't sleepwalk, nor have I been possessed..."

While Zhao Wuya was deep in self-reflection, Zhou Xuan had already started walking away.

"Where are you going, Brother Xuan?"

"Back to Zhou's Purification Shop. Today's mission is complete. Work's done for the day."

Zhou Xuan had already regained his usual calm and composed demeanor.

The day's outing had yielded two readings—one minor hex, one major hex.

The minor hex had been perfectly resolved, but as for Zhao Wuya's major hex, Zhou Xuan didn't yet have any leads. He intended to return to consult Yun Ziliang for guidance.

With a capable mentor at hand, why waste the opportunity? Relying solely on his own guesswork would kill far too many brain cells.

"Brother Xuan, wait for me. My donkey is too slow,"

Zhao Wuya called out, hurrying his donkey along as he tried to catch up with Zhou Xuan's expertly paced steps.

...

At Zhou's Purification Shop,

Peng Sheng had already arrived.

He had brought two clansmen with him, traveling by horse-drawn carriage from Peng Town to the shop. The clansmen carried two crates of fresh peaches for Zhou Xuan to sample.

"Mr. Peng, looks like you've finally reclaimed a body."

Yun Ziliang looked at Peng Sheng's "new body" with unconcealed envy, poking and prodding it here and there.

Though Peng Sheng's new body wasn't entirely a perfect fit—broad and large, with sagging facial muscles that lacked elasticity, hanging limply—

it was still a functional body. And any physical form, no matter how imperfect, outclassed Yun Ziliang's own decaying remains. He praised Peng Sheng's vessel: "Not bad at all, not bad."

Yet, a hint of melancholy lay hidden in his voice.

Peng Sheng knew Yun Ziliang must be feeling disheartened, so he offered some encouragement: "Taoist Yun, Brother Xuan is immensely capable. I'm sure it won't take long before he finds you a body that suits you perfectly."

"Of course, of course," Yun Ziliang replied, though his tone still carried a trace of hopeful yearning.

With that, the two sat down to play a game of chess, conversing idly about Peng Town in the meantime.

"Three hundred years ago, the Three-headed Stone Buddha used the Netherworld Stone to turn the vast Peng Town into a Forbidden Land that no one could locate,

but yesterday, Taoist Yun used the Dragon Riding Talisman to channel the Dragon Qi of Peng Town, fracturing the barriers at the edge of the Forbidden Land.

However, today, the edges of the Forbidden Land are showing signs of reconstitution. It won't be long before Peng Town turns back into a Forbidden Land."

Peng Sheng asked, "Taoist Yun, is there any way to prevent Peng Town from becoming a Forbidden Land again?"

Yun Ziliang placed a black piece on the chessboard and asked in return, "Mr. Peng, do you know of a way to enter and exit the Forbidden Land?"

"The White Deer Priest, who once served the Three-headed Stone Buddha, was one of the five priests within the Tattoo Forbidden Land. He knew the method to traverse the Forbidden Land."

"In that case, Peng Town becoming a Forbidden Land might actually be a blessing."

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