From Evil Sect Leader to Doctor

At noon, a few people had a vegetarian meal at Du Yun Temple, with all ingredients sourced from the mountains, and the Mute Monk even made noodles.

Despite being vegetarian dishes, everyone could not stop praising the meal, which might also be related to their hunger after the mountain walk.

When they left in the afternoon, Tonghui gave each of them a hand-copied Heart Sutra and specially gave Ye Qingya a sandalwood bracelet.

Ye Qingya’s trip was truly worthwhile today, her mood visibly improved a lot.

On their way back, she inquired about Monk Tonghui, and Xu Chunliang’s only knowledge of Tonghui was through Mo Han. However, from these two interactions, it was clear that Tonghui’s cultivation and insight far exceeded those of ordinary people.

Tonghui seemed to have forgotten things from the past, but he wasn’t eager to regain lost memories like others. To find out who he truly was? Whether he still had family in this world, Tonghui’s approach to this was not even part of the saying "go with the flow," he was resisting treatment altogether.

Perhaps Tonghui had already remembered something, or maybe his forgotten memories were filled with pain.

Xu Chunliang was curious about how Mo Han and Tonghui knew each other. Based on what he knew about Mo Han, she wasn’t someone who would selflessly help others without expecting anything in return. She either had another purpose, or she was a relative of Tonghui, possibly even his family, who knows.

Before getting off the car, Ye Qingya handed Xu Chunliang the lesson plan she had prepared in advance, reminding him to prepare well. Don’t let Principal Chen down. Even for just one class, take it seriously, and don’t mislead the students.

Pu Jian, watching Ye Qingya’s departing figure, clicked his tongue in appreciation, "I must say, your sworn sister is really beautiful. I heard Qiao Rulong even had a heart replacement, unfortunate indeed, so young and already a living widow."

Xu Chunliang glared at him, "If you don’t speak, no one will mistake you for being mute."

Pu Jian sighed, "No need to rush, I’m just stating facts. If something happens to Qiao Rulong, wouldn’t your sworn sister have to..." This time, his words were cut short by Xu Chunliang’s fierce glare.

Just then, Pu Jian’s phone rang, it was Mo Han calling, and answering it, he beamed, "President Mo! We just came back from Du Yun Temple, the difficulty of the project is greater than we imagined. As for the price... Hmm, okay, okay! Then there’s no problem."

Xu Chunliang guessed it must be Mo Han telling him not to worry about the construction; money wasn’t an issue. Recently, Pu Jian had suddenly become a construction contractor, first helping Chen Qianfan’s office find a location, now even taking on the repair project of Du Yun Temple. No wonder he’s been staying in the Capital City recently; compared to this, the profits from Weishan Island weren’t big enough.

Pu Jian hadn’t chatted long when Mo Han asked him to pass the phone to Xu Chunliang.

Xu Chunliang gave Pu Jian a look.

Pu Jian said, "She’s looking for you."

Xu Chunliang said, "Doesn’t she have my number? Why call you to find me? How did she know we’re together?"

Pu Jian gave a dry cough. Obviously, he had mentioned it.

Xu Chunliang still took the phone, lazily saying, "President Mo, do you have any instructions?"

Mo Han said, "Has Town Mayor Xu been idle lately? Doesn’t seem right, it looks like the Dongzhou Culture and Tourism Bureau and Hu Shan Town have a lot of work."

"The world spins just fine without anyone."

Mo Han said, "Come to Linzheng Hall, I found something good, and Master Huang San is taking a look at it."

Xu Chunliang said, "I just came out of the mountains, I’m tired."

Mo Han said, "Come or don’t, just don’t regret it later."

Xu Chunliang handed the phone back to Pu Jian.

Pu Jian asked, "What did she say?"

Xu Chunliang said, "You’re just someone who only sees money, haven’t even started, and you already sold me out?"

"I swear to God."

"You swear to what? Go to Linzheng Hall."

Pu Jian dropped off Xu Chunliang at Linzheng Hall, he had things to do in the evening, so he didn’t go in.

Xu Chunliang arrived at Huang Wanglin’s office and found Bai Mushan there, discussing oracle bones with Huang Wanglin.

Mo Han was making tea on the side, Xu Chunliang greeted them as he went in, and Huang Wanglin beckoned him over, "Xiaoxu, come and have a look."

On the workbench in front of them were dozens of dragon bones. Ever since Mo Han purchased dragon bones at a high price from Sun Changli, people have been coming to Linzheng Hall for appraisals. These dozens of dragon bones were all brought by Xie Boxiang.

Xu Chunliang laughed, "With Professor Bai here, how could it be my turn to make a fool of myself."

Mo Han could tell; on the surface, he seemed modest, but on closer inspection, he was subtly mocking Bai Mushan for making a fool of himself.

Xu Chunliang plopped down and said to Mo Han, "Pour me a cup of tea."

Mo Han gave him a sideways glance, truly not treating himself as an outsider. Despite her grumbling, she still poured a cup of tea and handed it to him.

Xu Chunliang took a few sips of tea and deliberately said, "I’ve been trekking with Pu Jian over mountains and through valleys, while you’re here leisurely enjoying yourself."

Mo Han said, "Professor Bai and I just arrived; I didn’t have Pu Jian call you over."

Bai Mushan said, "Xiaoxu, come take a look at this dragon bone; it seems different from the others."

Xu Chunliang then got up and walked over. The dragon bone Bai Mushan was pointing to was relatively large, probably from an animal’s scapula, and carved on it were some strange symbols, not oracle bone script.

Huang Wanglin said, "Is it a star chart?"

Xu Chunliang put on a pair of gloves and picked up the dragon bone. Turning it over, he found a human figure carved on the back, with two small figures intertwined in a strange, almost inhuman way.

Xu Chunliang instantly thought of the two gadgets he got from Tong Guangsheng. The copper people were cleverly designed to interlock in various positions, but not in this orientation.

Xu Chunliang asked, "Is this the only piece?"

Huang Wanglin nodded.

Xu Chunliang intentionally said, "Mo Han, come see what this is."

Huang Wanglin and Bai Mushan exchanged glances, thinking this kid was quite mischievous. Seeing Mo Han actually approach, they felt embarrassed to just stand there, so they decided to rest and have tea.

Mo Han examined the carvings, knowing Xu Chunliang was playing a trick, and calmly said, "What’s so peculiar?"

Xu Chunliang said, "People in ancient times weren’t so liberal. Why carve this on it?"

Mo Han replied, "What you have is incomplete. It’s not oracle bone script, is it?"

Mo Han seemed unfazed, making Xu Chunliang feel bored. He shook his head and rummaged through the pile, finding two more pieces that seemed of similar material. Placing the three together, he noticed they were about the same thickness.

Xu Chunliang said, "This thing seems like a container."

Having just taken a sip of tea, Huang Wanglin commented, "I also think it’s not a dragon bone, but part of some bone vessel."

Xu Chunliang set the pieces down.

Mo Han asked, "What do you think this is?"

Xu Chunliang touched the human figures with his finger and found they were engraved. The more he looked, the more they seemed similar to something he obtained, Xu Chunliang said, "Who knows? I’m not an artifact expert. You should ask Professor Bai."

Bai Mushan said, "If I’m not mistaken, the piece you’re holding is likely human bone."

Xu Chunliang tossed the bone aside. "Great, why didn’t you say that earlier?"

After removing his gloves to wash his hands, he realized the piece was human bone, suggesting Bai Mushan wasn’t without merit.

Bai Mushan said, "I once came across a record while organizing historical materials. Some ancient slave owners liked creating vessels from human bones for burial purposes. These bone vessels feature a circular mouth and deep bowl with ring feet, resembling bronze gui, often called bone gui because they were made from human bones and thus termed fatal gui."

Huang Wanglin, despite years in collecting, had never heard of a fatal gui, let alone seen one.

Bai Mushan said, "Fatal gui typically used bones from pairs or groups of people, always even numbers, and one male and one female pair, balanced in Yin and Yang, with frequent use of scapula, pelvis, and skull—large bone areas. It’s not really a gui because it has a lid, it’s a container, holding a puppet symbolizing the tomb owner. The puppet is usually one or a pair of small bronze figures, stored in the fatal gui to be nourished by Yin souls, preventing decay or demise."

Huang Wanglin frowned and said, "How can such a sinister thing exist in the world?"

Bai Mushan said, "It’s merely an ancient pursuit of immortality. I can’t be certain, but if it’s whole, there should be a pair of figures inside."

Xu Chunliang intentionally asked, "Where’s the small figure? I don’t see it."

Bai Mushan said, "I’ve mentioned, what remains is only part of the fatal gui; most of it is lost. I’ve never seen a real one either, so I can only deduce based on its human bone nature. If I’m wrong, please don’t laugh."

Xu Chunliang said, "Professor Bai, you are erudite and respected; you’re unlikely to be mistaken."

Turning to Mo Han, he added, "Did you bring me here just to see this? How unlucky." Internally, he chuckled, thinking the fatal gui might contain the bronze figures he got from Tong Guangsheng.

Why did Mo Han want him to see this? It didn’t make sense; she shouldn’t know about the bronze figures.

Mo Han said, "Professor Bai, show him your findings."

Bai Mushan said, "I made a rubbing of one dragon bone, see these characters."

Xu Chunliang stepped closer and glanced at the rub, which read—Bone Yin Chapter.

Xu Chunliang feigned ignorance and asked, "What is this?"

Bai Mushan said, "Mr. Xu comes from a family of traditional medicine. Have you heard of the Huangdi Waijing?"

Xu Chunliang said, "Of course, though it’s been lost for ages, hasn’t it?"

Bai Mushan said, "Though it doesn’t exist now, the ancient tombs might still preserve it. Aren’t works like the Lanting Xu and Guangling San discovered similarly?"