Chapter 100: The Apprentice

Xiao Xie nodded blankly at what Old Liao had said.

"Good grief," I thought to myself, "so Mr. Li didn't just ask me to handle the supernatural occurrences and clear out the house for my shop; he just got bored and wanted to dump that poor girl..." I felt a wave of disgust for Mr. Li, that hypocritical phony.

"Let's put that aside for now," I said, staring into Xiao Xie’s eyes. "Did you notice anything strange about the house where Lisa lives?"

Xiao Xie frowned, looking nervous as he whispered to us, "I’ve been to that house a few times. Every time I stepped into the courtyard, I always felt as if some eerie gaze was fixed upon me..."

Old Liao stood up from the sofa without a word and walked over to Xiao Xie. He reached out, plucked a small object from around Xiao Xie’s neck, and asked, "Where did this come from?"

Xiao Xie looked at us in confusion, quickly clutching the object in his palm as he replied, "It’s been with me since I was born. Why?"

I peered over at Old Liao’s hand and looked closely; it was an antique-looking little plaque.

"Old Liao, what is that?"

Old Liao let go and smiled. "This thing is a 'taofu' (peach wood charm). You’re no ordinary kid, are you?"

I asked Old Liao what a *taofu* was.

Old Liao explained that our country’s long-standing traditions of putting up couplets and setting off firecrackers were far more than just wishing for good luck and peace.

In ancient times, there was always a tradition of warding off evil during the New Year. Firecrackers were meant to scare away ghosts and malevolent spirits, while the predecessor to the modern couplet was a piece of feng shui ritual equipment used to block negative energy—and that equipment was the *taofu*.

In ancient times, every household would hang *taofu*.

These charms were made of peach wood. As the essence of the five woods, peach wood, when combined with Taoist incantations, was more than capable of blocking evil.

There is an ancient poem that says, "Always replace the old *taofu* with the new," which refers to this very object. Unfortunately, after the era of Zhu Yuanzhang, the *taofu* was gradually replaced by the form of spring couplets.

"Nowadays, people who understand the craft of making *taofu* are extremely rare. Isn’t it strange that Xiao Xie has carried one since birth?" Old Liao whispered to me mysteriously. I looked up at Xiao Xie and saw him staring back at us, equally confused by our whispering.

"It is a bit strange. Could there be some secret behind Xiao Xie?"

Old Liao chuckled upon hearing this. "Of course. Xiao Xie’s secret lies in his very destiny."

"Destiny? Something like my 'Nine Yin Convergence'?"

"Heh, do you think your ghostly destiny is as common as cabbage? Xiao Xie’s destiny is different; he is a natural talent for Taoist cultivation. See the runes on that *taofu*? Those are authentic Taoist incantations. It’s likely that for various reasons, a great master of the Taoist arts took a liking to him at birth, leaving him the charm to ward off disaster and intending to teach him secret Taoist methods once he came of age. Only..."

"Only what?"

"Only he’s already graduated from college, and no one has helped him 'open his mind' yet. Could he have been forgotten?"

"What does 'opening his mind' mean?"

I was baffled by Old Liao’s explanation; it was all a bit over my head. I only gathered that Xiao Xie’s background and destiny were quite extraordinary.

Old Liao seemed incredibly excited. He called out to Xiao Xie, "Xiao Xie, tell us your birth date and time."

As Xiao Xie provided the details, Old Liao stroked his chin with one hand while his other hand moved through a series of complex mudras. I caught a glimpse of a slight, upward twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"Spring and Autumn, Jia-Yin and Zi; Winter and Summer, Mao-Wei and Chen; Metal and Wood, Yi-Mao and Wei; Water and Fire, Geng-Xin and Ren; Earth destiny meets Chen and Si, the *Tongzi* is truly confirmed. A *Tongzi* destiny of the lonely stars—wonderful, simply wonderful!" Old Liao laughed heartily to himself, while Xiao Xie and I stood by, completely bewildered.

Seeing our confused expressions, Old Liao felt a bit awkward and said to Xiao Xie, "What I mean is, would you like to be my apprentice?"

???

Xiao Xie’s mouth hung open, and he stood there, stunned.

???

"Old Liao, what are you doing?" I whispered discreetly.

Old Liao sighed and said to me, "You know that I am someone cursed by heaven, abandoned by my master’s sect. Because of my mistakes, I have already failed my master’s teachings. I cannot let this craft die in my hands. Xiao Xie’s destiny and birth signs are just right, and he is a man of integrity; he is a suitable candidate. Regardless of whether I can defy heaven to change my fate and break this curse, at least regarding the inheritance of the sect, I will have no regrets!"

Old Liao stared into my eyes, clenching his fists, with a glimmer of moisture in his eyes.

Seeing his expression, I couldn't help but sigh. I turned to Xiao Xie and said, "Let us introduce ourselves again. My surname is Zhang, and I am the owner of this tattoo shop. We deal in 'dirty' business, using tattoos to help people ward off evil and avoid disaster. This is Old Liao, our shop's consultant. He is a legitimate successor of the Taoist tradition. The *taofu* around your neck is also a Taoist artifact. Perhaps this is the calling of fate."

Xiao Xie still looked astonished. "Although I said earlier that I felt the house was eerie, I really don’t believe in these ghosts and spirits. Besides, becoming a Taoist... that’s not really my pursuit."

"What kind of career do you want?"

"I want to be the greatest painter!" Xiao Xie held his head high, his face full of longing. I remembered my own feelings of expectation toward art before I took the art entrance exams.

"I’ve studied painting too. Why don't you take a look at my work?" I pulled a sketchbook from my drawer and handed it to him.

Xiao Xie opened the book skeptically. It was filled with many tattoo designs—some imposing and grand, some dark and mysterious, others auspicious and blessed. I could clearly see Xiao Xie’s expression becoming increasingly shocked. I seized the opportunity and struck while the iron was hot. "How about this: I’ll offer you an internship. You can draw designs here in my shop, and I’ll teach you some tattooing techniques. You can also design your own colored patterns. It’s relevant to your profession, there’s a base salary plus commission, and if you do well, I can even let you open a branch shop. How about it?"

A bright light ignited in Xiao Xie’s eyes. He quickly grabbed my hand. "Boss Zhang, are you serious?"

I laughed. "Would I lie to you?"

"Then I’m in! I’ll come to work tomorrow!"

Old Liao nudged me with his elbow. "You really have a way with words, Brother Xu. Keep him here; maybe we can cultivate a talent for the supernatural underworld."

"Hold it, hold it. I’m just teaching him drawing and tattooing techniques. 'Yin-Yang Embroidery' is out of the question; he can’t handle that. If you want to teach him Taoist techniques, that’s up to you." I left Old Liao aside and went over to Xiao Xie to answer his questions about the patterns.

As the sketchbook flipped, one pattern after another flashed before our eyes. I reached out and stopped at a specific image.

Beneath the illustration, a small line of text was written: *Golden Buddha Mahamayuri-raja, the Buddha-Mother Great Peacock Wisdom King.*

Gold conquers wood; if a wood-spirit is causing trouble, this image is guaranteed to break the wood-spirit's curse!