Chapter 346: Yin Token
“You’re quite early today, Joyless.”
As soon as the first light broke, Ye Qing got out of his bed and began practicing his fist arts. He had gone through his stances and techniques three times when Chu Nianjiu lazily stepped out of the door.
“Not really,” Ye Qing withdrew his fists and replied. Follow current novels on novelb((in).(com)
“Oh right, I thought I heard something last night. Is everything fine?” Chu Nianjiu asked.
“Yeah. It’s just a bunch of useless imps,” Ye Qing replied uncaringly.
Last night, he was in the middle of training when suddenly, five imps passed through the wall and appeared inside his room. He had taken them out in a single strike.
“Imps? Why would they come here? This place is full of yang qi and the energy of the living.” Chu Nianjiu was confused.
“How would I know?” Ye Qing shrugged. “Oh right, where is Brother Peng? Has he not returned yet?”
“No—wait, here he comes.” Chu Nianjiu was just about to shake his head when Peng Hu stepped through the gates.
“Did you find anything, Brother Peng?”
“No. I haven’t seen anyone the whole night.” Peng Hu shook his head a little tiredly.
Last night, after they had settled in, he and Peng Lin had agreed to watch the cliff for the person who cursed their clan elder twenty-four-seven. Peng Lin would keep watch during the day, and he during the night.
“Are you sure you and Peng Lin don’t want to enter the Yin Market?” Chu Nianjiu asked.
Peng Hu shook his head. “Yes. Both of us are needed to take care of Peng Chuan and watch over the cliff. Perhaps next time.”
“Very well.”
Peng Hu added, “The Yin Market is a dangerous place. Be careful.”
“Thank you for your concern, Brother Peng. We will.” Chu Nianjiu and Ye Qing saluted him. “You must be quite tired after staying up the whole night. Please, go catch some rest.”
“Yeah. I’ll see you later.” Peng Hu returned the salute and went back to his room.
“Do you think that the caster will show up, Joyless?” Chu Nianjiu whispered to Ye Qing after Peng Hu had gone into his room.
“I can’t say,” Ye Qing shook his head and said in a serious tone, “but I hope not.”
“Me too.” Chu Nianjiu nodded.
The reason was simple. It was because they most likely wouldn’t be able to defeat whoever the caster was.
“Say, why is Mank Ee still not back yet? He said he would familiarize us with the process today, didn’t he?” Chu Nianjiu changed the subject.
“There’s no hurry. We still have plenty of time.” Ye Qing shrugged.
Entering the Yin Market wasn’t as simple as putting on a set of burial clothes and going to the right at night. There was a series of things they had to prepare.
After the flame was gone, Mank Ee stuck his hand into the pile of ash. To their surprise, he fished out a mysterious, exquisite, seemingly brand new token that didn’t look like it was made of metal or wood.
Mank Ee showed them the token and said, “This is the Yin Token. It proves that the Yin Gods have registered our names and given us permission to enter the Yin Market, and only those with the Yin Token are allowed to roam the Yin Market freely.”
“You must keep your Yin Token safe while you’re still inside the Yin Market. Otherwise, the yin guards will steal your soul and imprison you in the Eighteen Hells on the spot.”
“Let me take a look.” Ye Qing took Man Ee’s Yin Token and examined it closely. It was cold to touch and forged from some sort of unknown material. One side of the token was engraved with Mank Ee’s name, and the other with the word “Feng”.
He clearly remembered that the wooden token Mank Ee gave them was made of ordinary willow. How strange!
“This material seems impressive. I bet it’ll last for a long time. Surely you’ve kept some spares since this isn’t the first time you enter the Yin Market?” Ye Qing asked, hoping to exploit a loophole.
Mank Ee shook his head. “You are joking, my lord. The Yin Token will only last until the end of the Yin Market. It would automatically crumble into ash once the Yin Market is closed.”
“I see.” Ye Qing smiled and returned the token to Mank Ee. Then, he looked at his companions and asked, “So, who’s going first?”
“This looks interesting. I’ll go first,” Chu Nianjiu declared with bright eyes before walking up to the statues. Then, he kowtowed three times loudly like Mank Ee.
But as soon as he finished, the two statues shuddered and made three banging noises. It almost sounded like they were returning the kowtows.
“Heh...” Ye Qing smirked. Thanks to his demonic thought, he “saw” something bright yellow flowing out of Chu Nianjiu’s body and taking the form of a dragon. The dragon then let out a mighty roar.
Two silhouettes also appeared out of the two statues. The reason they returned Chu Nianjiu’s salute was because they were afraid.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the bright yellow energy that came out of Chu Nianjiu’s body was the Will Of The Dragon. The Pacification Sentinels were the Son of Heaven’s personal bodyguards, and Chu Nianjiu was a Peacemaker in the Luo Shui Pacification Bureau. As an official of Chu, of course he was protected by the Will of the Empire and the Will of the Dragon.
The two silhouettes who attached themselves to the civil and martial judge were most likely yin guards of Fengdu. Since Chu Nianjiu was an official of the yang world, of course they couldn’t receive his kowtows without returning it.
“What happened?” Chu Nianjiu looked confused.
Ye Qing chuckled. “It’s nothing. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
Chu Nianjiu rose to his feet and threw the wood tablet into the bronze brazier. A while later, the wood tablet burned into ash, and Chu Nianjiu fished out a Yin Token from within.
Lin Yuhuai stepped forward after Chu Nianjiu got his Yin Token. But unlike Chu Nianjiu, his head didn’t touch the ground. Still, the martial and civil judge returned the salute.
“My lord, your head needs to hit the ground for it to work!” Mank Ee said in a hurry.
“It’s fine.”
Lin Yuhuai must have figured out something because he didn’t hesitate to toss his wooden tablet into the bronze brazier. A short while later, he walked away with his own Yin Token.
“Huh...?” Mank Ee’s mouth was wide open. Since when were the Yin Gods so generous? The last time someone tried something like this, they failed to get a Yin Token and fell gravely sick. They were this close from dying and joining the Fengdu, so what was so different about this?
Qi Xuanyun stepped forward next, but he didn’t fall to his knees. Instead, he bowed his head deeply and said, “The heavens’ blessing be with you. This one has been a part of Taoism since young, and I was taught to kneel only to the Taozu. Forgive me for not paying you the respects you deserve.”
Then, he walked up to the bronze brazier and tossed the wooden tablet inside.
“Young Reverend! You won’t get the Yin Token like this!” Mank Ee couldn’t help but cry out. Lin Yuhuai at least saw through the formalities even though his kowtow wasn’t sincere, but this was completely against the norm!
Before he could say anything else, he saw Qi Xuanyun pulling out a Yin Token from the bronze brazier. His eyes immediately widened like saucers, and his jaw hit the floor with a loud clang that only he could hear.
Do you happen to be blind or sick today, my gods?