The Five-Pass Deity
Night fell.
The Water Quarter in the east of the city.
A residence with three courtyards.
Liu Hong had lost his business, his capital swallowed up by the waves, and with luck alone escaped with his life. He had lain ill in bed for half a month.
A few days prior, a close friend visited, telling him that since there was no skilled physician to be found, he should beseech a benevolent deity. The friend then recounted several tales of this deity.
The god’s title: Lord Wutong.
Seeing death approaching, his household on the verge of ruin, Liu Hong decided to turn to the gods in desperation.
Worship was not a matter of silent prayer alone; a tall platform had to be erected, guiding incense lit—thick as a finger, glowing with fire atop a sand mound. The faithful lay prostrate, reciting the incantation to summon Lord Wutong: “Pasa yana yandi, Lord Wutong manifest your power.”
A short while later.
Wind rose, mist gathered.
A handsome man clad in regal purple robes stepped through the mud, a folding fan in hand, smiling as he approached and helped Liu Hong to his feet.
Liu Hong was startled, his face pale from illness and weakness, unable to stand for long. The man in purple removed a gourd from his waist, poured a cup of blood-red wine, and signaled for Liu Hong to drink.
Liu Hong drank deeply, feeling his woes melt away, as if reborn; he hurriedly knelt.
The man smiled and lifted him up.
Shaking his head, he reached into his sleeve and produced two ingots of silver, each fifty taels, placing them in Liu Hong’s hands.
Liu Hong was delighted, about to voice his thanks, when he saw the strikingly beautiful man strolling toward the back courtyard.
At that moment, Liu Hong recalled his friend’s warning: once Lord Wutong is summoned, he grants wealth and health, but there is one condition—never disturb him at a critical moment.
And what was this critical moment?
The master of the house must offer a woman to serve the god in gratitude.
Liu Hong’s wife, Lady Chen, was quite beautiful. Seeing a remarkable man entering, she was about to cry out.
The man was faster—he covered her mouth and easily pinned her to the bed, swiftly disrobing her and taking his pleasure.
By dawn, Liu Hong entered with maids and attendants; Lady Chen lay unconscious on the bed.
...
Mr. Song managed to provide some information.
They dared not press him further, lest they harm Miss Song’s reputation.
Zhao Jia had no intention of doing so, and Black Cat Lu Xun was even less willing.
The black cat, after all, was raised by the Song family, bound to them from birth to death, filled with affection. Even with Lu Xun controlling the cat’s body, many instincts persisted.
The two men and a cat left the Song residence.
...
Over several days, as they made inquiries, tales of the Wutong God began to spread through the neighborhood.
When people heard Zhao Jia and the black cat were asking about the Wutong God, some would evade the question, others would simply refuse to let them in—the signs clearly pointed to hidden secrets.
They made little progress.
The Water Dragon Bandit stronghold, however, was destroyed by a joint force from three counties and the prefecture.
The corpse of Chen Sheng, the bandit chieftain known as Water Dragon, still hung at the Narrow Dragon Road wharf.
Anyone passing the busy government wharf could see it, a warning to spies and scouts.
Merchants and travelers applauded, praising the authorities for finally doing something useful besides raising taxes.
Night fell.
The wharf gradually darkened.
A pair of beastly eyes, suspended in the air, accompanied a massive, brocaded head emerging from the forest.
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He entered the smoky marketplace, disguised by night—Lu Xun had come.
His plan had been to snatch Chen Sheng’s head earlier, but County Officer Lei Ji had taken the corpse to Jiujiang Prefecture.
He thought the head was lost to him.
But then, the prefect ordered Chen Sheng’s body hung at the Narrow Dragon Road wharf to intimidate wrongdoers, giving him a chance.
The Tiger King Lu Xun concealed himself, watching the two guards at the flagpole.
“How to draw them away?” Lu Xun pondered, deciding to make some noise.
“Roar!”
Thunder erupted from nowhere.
The howl shook the river.
The two guards trembled in terror, teeth chattering, clutching their weapons tightly, though the warmth brought little comfort.
Tiger attacks were rampant in Jiujiang, with frequent reports of tigers devouring travelers. If a hungry tiger really charged, the guards would be its midnight snack.
They consulted briefly.
“Shall we leave?”
“We must!”
They hurried into the nearby barracks.
Sure enough, as the guards closed the door and peered out, a striped tiger stepped onto the pier under cover of darkness. Its golden eyes glinted coldly in the moonlight, striped fur bristling, massive paws silent on the wooden boards.
This was a silent hunter—without the roar, the guards would never have fled.
But the guards didn’t know: the Tiger King had roared simply to scare them off.
Lu Xun approached the flagpole, thick as a man’s embrace, where the corpse hung six meters above ground.
“Stagecraft: Tiger Hunt!”
Activating the beast hunt, Lu Xun leapt onto the sturdy pole, claws and hind legs working together, easily reaching Chen Sheng’s level. With a swipe, he took the head, then landed nimbly and vanished into the night.
“Gone?”
The guard exhaled shakily, slumping to the ground, sweating.
“Quick, check the body! Don’t let the tiger take it!” The other guard anxiously opened the barracks door, ran out into the moonlight to check the flagpole. The corpse was still there, but on closer inspection, the bandit chief’s head was missing.
...
Lu Xun had to reconsider his old notions. He always thought carrying a human head would be convenient, but that was a fixed idea—many things must adapt to circumstance.
For example, if he had tracked Jin Er in human form, he might have already fallen into a Taoist’s trap.
Instead, being a cat saved him.
Hunting tigers in Xunyang River would have been impossible without the Toad Head.
Yet he still had high hopes for Water Dragon Chen Sheng’s head.
[Water Dragon Bandit Chen Sheng’s Skull]
Type: Nuo (Min—Human)
Quality: Ordinary
Spell: River Flow Hundred-Pound Blade
Notes: On Xunyang River, the bandit stronghold stands, northward lies Nine-Bend Peak and Mount Lu, mud and sand, fish and shrimp, in the smoky depths, the Water Dragon transforms.
[Wishes: To be king and noble.]
“A fine wish!”
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Lu Xun had found many heads, but this was the first with a spell—most were stage tricks.
He didn’t know what the spell looked like; had he not seen the monster robbing tax silver, Lu Xun might have worn the bandit’s head and fulfilled its obsession.
Now, he had a better option.
Moreover, Chen Sheng’s obsession was difficult to fulfill and required the heavy-backed iron blade to unleash its power.
All things considered, aside from being a human head, it paled in comparison to his strongest skull, the Tiger King.
For the better option, he had to abandon this head.
“Can I devour it?”
Nothing happened.
Lu Xun switched to the cat’s head, becoming the three-legged black cat.
He focused on the strange space of skulls.
Words like black ink appeared in the air.
[Devour Water Dragon Bandit Chief ‘Chen Sheng’s Skull’?]
“No.”
“Strange.”
Lu Xun mused: using the Tiger King to devour the skull brought no response, but switching to the old cat made words appear. He then tried the Toad Head.
“Devour.”
Again, no change.
Did it mean the obsession must be fulfilled before enhancement could begin?
Otherwise, only the existing powers could be used.
The Toad Head was [Silver], the Tiger King was [Devour].
Devouring was tricky, silver even harder.
He couldn’t just rob tax silver like a monster.
People saw the toad’s size and weren’t afraid at all.
These two skulls were useless if enhancement couldn’t be activated.
“Should I let the three-legged cat devour them all?”
Lu Xun weighed the options.
It wasn’t impossible, but each skull was useful—the toad was offensive, the Tiger King powerful, the bandit chief’s head allowed him to pass as human.
He focused on the Toad Head.
[Crush the Wutong God ‘Bald Monk’s Skull’?]
“No.”
Lu Xun narrowed his cat eyes and tried: “Enhance the three-legged cat’s skull.”
[Not enough ashes, enhancement impossible]
“How much ash is needed?”
[Not enough ashes, enhancement impossible]
“All right, I understand.”
These three heads should not be tampered with lightly. However, tomorrow, the county office would execute other bandits, and there would surely be scraps to crush.
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