Chapter 93: The Plan

He let out a breath and said, “Then I’ll leave it to you to suppress it for a while with this talisman tube. But keep in mind, if you choose to place the tube inside the spirit plaque, then for the time being you won’t be able to draw on its power again. In other words, the spirit plaque will become nothing more than an ordinary object, and it will no longer provide you with protection.”

It was like fitting the plaque with a switch. Not permanent, but at least for a while it would keep its power in check.

Master Yan handed the talisman tube to Qi Yan and let him decide for himself whether to do it. He imposed nothing, leaving everything to Qi Yan’s own judgment. After all, it was his spirit plaque, and thus his freedom.

Qi Yan held the tube between his fingers. At first he could not sense anything remarkable about it, but when he focused his attention on it, he could faintly feel an unusual aura. It was not obvious, yet it was subtle and distinct.

This little thing, so unremarkable to the eye, somehow brought a feeling of calm when held close. Was that the intended effect of an empowered talisman? It seemed this was no childish trinket. Since it could suppress the power of the Yin Palace plaque, it had to be extraordinary.

Qi Yan looked toward Li Ruo Ke. She answered with a gentle smile and a steady gaze. No one else said a word to sway his decision.

After only a minute of hesitation, Qi Yan no longer delayed. He opened the plaque’s casing with his own hands, then pressed the talisman tube, scarcely an inch long, against the back of the plaque. The two fit together with surprising ease, requiring no adhesive at all.

Then he closed the casing again. That was all it took.

When Qi Yan had finished, he did not immediately feel anything different. Master Yan was not in a hurry either; he sat down and lit a cigarette.

Qi Yan’s constitution was different now, so his sensitivity to these things was heightened. After a long while... little by little, he finally began to sense a subtle change.

In his sight there was a brief flicker of blur, and in his mind it seemed as though a figure drifted near and then far away, wavering unpredictably.

It was hard to put into words what this felt like. It was as if... something on his body had suddenly been taken away.

“Hm...” Letting out a long breath, Qi Yan steadied himself and said, “So this counts as... suppressing it?”

It did seem a little different, but there was still no way to be certain.

Master Yan exhaled a ring of smoke with his usual unhurried air. “Let’s leave it at that for now. When I have time later, I’ll teach you slowly how to use your own will to control the spirit plaque, until you can take the lead like Ding does. For now, let the talisman tube serve as insurance.”

“Why not teach me now?” Qi Yan asked, not understanding the turn in his words.

“Because there isn’t time right now... There’s something very important waiting for us to do.” As he spoke, the others all looked over at him.

Master Yan casually pinched out the half-finished cigarette with his weathered fingers.

“We’re preparing to head to Hunan. We’re going to find someone.”

Li Ruo Ke asked, “Why are we suddenly going to Hunan? Is something urgent?”

This time it was Hao Da Long who answered.

“It’s not sudden, really. We should have set out once Xuan Xuan returned to the country, but then the accident at Exhibition City happened, and that delayed us.”

Master Yan nodded. “I gathered everyone here because of this matter. I said before that we’re racing against those people. Both sides are doing everything they can to track down the other Yin Palace plaques, using every scrap of intelligence available.”

“But the world is vast and full of people, and the seven plaque bearers were not chosen at the same time. To uncover the whereabouts of the other plaques is no easy task. We found Qi Yan only because that child Lan happened to cross paths with him, which led to what came after. Right now, we have two plaques on our side, but at the cultural exhibition, the first Yin Palace plaque fell into their hands again. Together with the fourth plaque they obtained long ago, the two sides are now evenly matched.”

From his words, Qi Yan gathered that the two sides were in a contest, searching for and fighting over the Yin plaques. But there was one question he had never received an answer to.

“Master Yan, earlier you said you never quite understood the exact purpose behind Xiao Yi Hong’s desperate efforts to collect these Yin plaques. But what is your goal? If we fight them for them, is it only to suppress the enemy?”

Hao Da Long cut in again. “It’s not that simple! At its root, this is about the seven of you plaque bearers yourselves. All seven plaques come from that Yin Palace. The key is to focus on the source. If you want to completely break free from your connection to the plaques, and still live well afterward, then you have to find the most proper solution.”

Master Yan continued his explanation.

“The method Xiao Yi Hong devised is no different from killing the goose to get the eggs. She does not care whether you plaque bearers live or die; she only wants to get all of the Yin Palace plaques into her hands. But we are different. I will never stand by and watch that venomous woman act with such impunity. To untie the bell, you must first find the one who tied it. If we want to fully understand the secrets of the plaques, we must first make sense of the Yin Palace.”

“My thinking is this: the seven plaques and the Yin Palace are closely linked. If we want to know the final truth, then we need to gather all of the Yin Palace plaques. These plaques may well be the key to opening the secrets of the Yin Palace.”

Qi Yan lit a cigarette of his own and took a few draws before speaking in thought.

“So in the end... if we want to find a way to sever this karma, and not die in the process, we have to start with the Yin Palace itself?”

“That’s right. It’s a very reasonable line of thought. The root of everything lies with the Yin Palace. But at present, our understanding of that black temple is far too limited. You’ve had contact with it yourself, so you know what I mean. That elusive, mysterious black temple is almost like the ghost building in legends. Each time it appears, it is in a different part of Thailand, and it comes suddenly, only to vanish even faster. Apart from the seven chosen plaque bearers, the rest of us have no real, concrete sense of it at all. The only point of entry is through these seven plaques...” Li Ruo Ke said thoughtfully from the side.

“So what we need to do now is get all the plaques into our hands. Once all seven are gathered together, there’s a very good chance we can uncover the secrets of that black temple?”

By then, Master Yan’s expression had grown serious. He said to Qi Yan, “This is directly tied to the lives of you plaque bearers. Now that you understand all this tangled karma, you must very much want to break the curse of the Yin Palace, don’t you?”

Qi Yan nodded solemnly.

“Yes. These plaques may seem to grant me powers unlike ordinary people, but in truth the harm far outweighs the benefit. They can certainly be called a curse. I’ve always wanted to get rid of them, but not at the cost of my life.”

Yet it must be understood that the enemy was also exhausting every effort to locate the remaining plaques, and in many respects their power was even greater.

Still, since Master Yan had brought this up on his own, he must have had his own plan. Qi Yan smiled faintly.

“So from what you’re saying, you’ve received some news about the other plaques, haven’t you?”

“They have their channels, and I have my own connections. It’s not as though I’m completely at a disadvantage. Over the years I’ve done almost nothing but search for the whereabouts of these plaques. How could there be no clues at all? This time... it’s time to strike back with force.”