"What? What did you see?!"
Seeing Yan Shouyi suddenly excited, Long Feicheng also became agitated.
To Yan Shouyi, this mysterious Shouxin Jade was a life-saving item, but to Long Feicheng, it was as alluring as a treasure map.
Yan Shouyi, while staring at the Shouxin Jade, said,
"Someone, using incredibly skillful techniques, has embedded several diamonds into this Shouxin Jade. These diamonds, refracting sunlight, resemble stars twinkling within the jade. When you hold the Shouxin Jade before your eyes, you can see the star map hidden inside."
"Let me see, let me see!"
Long Feicheng eagerly reached for it. However, after holding it before his eyes for a long time, he found no star map.
Yan Shouyi quickly snatched it back, saying angrily, "This is a matter of my life. If you break it, you'll accompany me to the underworld!"
Long Feicheng chuckled dryly and said, "Then I won't touch this thing… But why didn't I see a star map earlier?"
"Could it be that your kidney function isn't great lately, affecting your eyesight?" Yan Shouyi asked. "One of the symptoms of kidney deficiency is blurry vision."
"...N-no, it couldn't be, could it?" Long Feicheng said guiltily. "I haven't taken out a young lady in a long time."
"Masturbation is even more harmful to the body."
"..."
Yan Shouyi turned his head and continued to observe the star map within the Shouxin Jade.
In fact, based on the arrangement of the stars, it was easy to deduce that this was the star map of the Big Dipper.
The Big Dipper consists of seven stars: Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar, and Alkaid. Connected together, they resemble the ancient wine dipper used for scooping wine, hence the name Big Dipper.
However, what puzzled Yan Shouyi was the purpose of a star map. It seemed completely unrelated to his impending death.
After looking for a long time, Yan Shouyi made no new discoveries and felt a bit discouraged. He considered handing the Shouxin Jade to his father to examine.
Just then, Yan Shouyi's pocket began to shake violently. He fumbled it out and saw it was the Yin Wood containing Zhang Shantong.
He quickly released Zhang Shantong.
A wisp of green smoke drifted out of the Yin Wood and slowly took the form of Zhang Shantong.
Zhang Shantong stretched lazily and yawned, "This sleep was… so comfortable!"
Ever since Zhang Shantong dealt with Bai Muyu a few days ago, he had been sleeping inside Yan Shouyi's Yin Wood.
Yan Shouyi hadn't even had a chance to ask Zhang Shantong how he had dealt with Bai Muyu.
Now that Zhang Shantong had finally awakened, just as Yan Shouyi was about to question him, Zhang Shantong asked first:
"What day is it? How many days has Bai Muyu been dead?"
After Yan Shouyi replied, Zhang Shantong sneered,
"That Bai Muyu looked down on me because I wasn't a Ghost King. In the end, I beat him so badly he was crawling on the ground. I dispersed his soul and absorbed all his essence. He even dropped a lot of treasures. I was in a hurry to digest his essence and picked up many treasures, but I lost a red oil-paper umbrella. I don't know where that umbrella is now."
Yan Shouyi smiled. The Red God Umbrella was later picked up by the dog Taoist, who then offered it as a gift to Lin Zhitong upon their meeting.
Yan Shouyi saw through the situation but didn't expose it, as it would have embarrassed the dog Taoist.
Since the Red God Umbrella was to be given to Lin Zhitong anyway, the objective was achieved.
Zhang Shantong casually tossed the "equipment" that Bai Muyu had dropped earlier to Yan Shouyi.
This included Bai Shixi's Eastern King Gourd and the tattered ancient book that Bai Muyu valued highly.
With a pile of treasures in front of him, Yan Shouyi couldn't help but ask, "Grand Uncle, don't you want to pick a few of these treasures?"
Zhang Shantong glared at Yan Shouyi, "You, the successor of the Lu Ban School, are really doing poorly. These are treasures? If this were back in my and your grandfather's time, we wouldn't even glance at this trash on the roadside!"
Yan Shouyi coughed awkwardly, "Then why didn't my grandfather pass down his collected treasures to me when he died?"
"Damn it, speaking of this makes me angry!" Zhang Shantong exclaimed. "Your grandfather used all the treasures we collected together as betrothal gifts for your grandmother. Your grandmother's family was also the type to only receive and never give; they accepted all the treasures without returning anything, while your grandfather was foolishly overjoyed and married your grandmother with empty hands and nothing!"
Hearing Zhang Shantong's tone, filled with resentment, it was as if Yan Shouyi's grandmother had stolen Zhang Shantong's beloved man, rather than Yan Shouyi's grandfather having stolen Zhang Shantong's beloved woman.
Long Feicheng, who couldn't keep his mouth shut, looked at Yan Shouyi and then at Zhang Shantong, showing a shocked expression.
"Brother Yan! Brother Yan!" Long Feicheng whispered, "You recognize him as your adopted grandfather, could it be because… he and your grandfather had an unspeakable romance??"
In that instant, the temperature in the private room dropped by tens of degrees.
Zhang Shantong was burning with a ghostly blue flame, while the hot tea in Long Feicheng's cup had already frozen into ice.
"You little brat, you don't want to live, do you?" Zhang Shantong said coldly.
Long Feicheng immediately shook his head, "Grandpa, I was wrong!"
"Hmph."
Zhang Shantong snorted haughtily, leaving Long Feicheng to stew.
Meanwhile, in the adjacent elegant private room, two Taoist priests couldn't help but shiver.
"What's going on next door? First it was corpse energy, malevolent energy, and sandalwood. Then it was athlete's foot, and now it's thick ghost energy and terrifying Yin energy!"
"Senior Brother, this young master Yan from next door is not to be trifled with!"
Master Gao also felt a bit wary, "We'll play it by ear later. Rongcheng is not our territory, so it's best to keep a low profile."
In the "Dan" private room, Zhang Shantong withdrew his divine powers and asked Yan Shouyi about the subsequent events at the Bai family a few days prior.
Yan Shouyi recounted everything truthfully, and only then did Zhang Shantong learn that Yan Shouyi's father had appeared.
But Zhang Shantong chuckled and said to Yan Shouyi, "I originally wanted your father to recognize me as his adopted father too, but I presume he's not easily bullied and won't yield so easily, so it's best to wait for now."
Yan Shouyi couldn't help but imagine the scene of Zhang Shantong confronting his father.
It would definitely be very stimulating.
"Then what are your plans now?" Yan Shouyi asked.
Zhang Shantong replied with a smile, "As I said last time, your adopted grandfather has matters to attend to, so I will be traveling for a while. It's uncertain when I'll return to Rongcheng."
Yan Shouyi felt a sense of regret. To be honest, Zhang Shantong and his grandfather were good brothers, and Yan Shouyi truly regarded Zhang Shantong as an adopted grandfather.
Zhang Shantong said, "Don't sigh. You haven't cleaned up your own mess yet. There isn't much time left until your three-year death tribulation. You should focus your time on important matters."
"I am!"
Yan Shouyi took out the Shouxin Jade and said, "This Shouxin Jade is the clue to breaking my death tribulation. Unfortunately, it only contains an incomprehensible star map, and I can't decipher it at all."
"Oh? Let me see?" Zhang Shantong's interest was piqued.
Yan Shouyi handed the Shouxin Jade to Zhang Shantong. Zhang Shantong peered at it for a long time, then asked Yan Shouyi angrily,
"Are you kidding me, kid? There's clearly nothing in this broken jade!"
Long Feicheng suddenly chimed in, "Grandpa, you couldn't see it either?"
"No!"
"Then your kidneys are probably not doing too well either," Long Feicheng said seriously. "Brother Yan just said that kidney deficiency can cause blurry vision. But it's understandable, you are old, and it would be strange if you weren't deficient!"
Zhang Shantong glared at Long Feicheng with a dark expression, "Have you never been beaten by a ghost? Do you want to experience the Five Thunder True Law of my Dragon Tiger Mountain?"
Long Feicheng flinched and quickly said, "Grandpa, I was wrong again!"
This time, Yan Shouyi was perplexed. Could it be that only he could see the star map within the Shouxin Jade?
Zhang Shantong pondered for a moment and then said,
"However, I do believe that this Shouxin Jade is the clue to breaking your death tribulation. Since only you can see the star map within the Shouxin Jade, it means that this Shouxin Jade is closely related to you. Perhaps it's the Lu Ban book, perhaps it's bloodline, but in any case, you are destined to have a connection with the Shouxin Jade."
Yan Shouyi nodded, "That makes sense, but this star map is too direct and simple. There are no hidden secrets."
"Think about it carefully," Zhang Shantong said. "Since only you can see the star map of the Shouxin Jade, the clue must originate from you. What makes you different from others is… the Lu Ban book! Only you understand the contents of the Lu Ban book. Think carefully, are there any records in the Lu Ban book related to star maps?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Shouyi lowered his head and began to ponder.
When it comes to star maps, one cannot avoid mentioning astrology.
The origin of astrology can be traced back to ancient times. During the Pre-Qin period, people had already classified and named the stars in the sky.
During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang deduced weather changes by observing the celestial phenomena at night, completing the stratagem of borrowing arrows with straw boats. The Grand Astrologer of Wu, Chen Zhuo, established the entire celestial sphere, compiling 283 star palaces, known as "Chen Zhuo's Determination of Cycles."
In the subsequent Sui and Tang dynasties, a hermit named Dan Yuanzi expanded and improved upon Chen Zhuo's celestial sphere, finally compiling a book called "Butian Ge" (Song of Heaven's Rotation), which became the foundation of astrology.
The original text of "Butian Ge" can still be found today, but there is another version that can predict good and bad fortune and determine feng shui.
Compared to Qimen Dunjia and Xiao Liu Ren, astrology is closer to Taiyi Shen Shu and is mostly used for predicting national affairs, serving to warn rulers and the populace.
Later emperors even established dedicated astronomical departments—the Imperial Observatory. The foundation of the Imperial Observatory was based on the study of "Butian Ge."
And this version of "Butian Ge" is still recorded in the Lu Ban book in this era.
Thinking of this, Yan Shouyi muttered to himself,
"Could it be that the 'Butian Ge' must be used to decipher the star map within the Shouxin Jade?"