As a Taoist, I could tell that my master's yang energy was very weak.
The three yang fires had also become exceptionally feeble.
It seemed as if a single breath would extinguish them.
Although my master could stop coughing with the medicine from my martial uncle,
I had also seen him cough up fresh blood several times.
I could sense that my master's time might truly be drawing near.
Yet, my master appeared quite optimistic.
He did not sigh or lament about his deteriorating health.
He simply spent more time sleeping...
And on this day, it suddenly began to drizzle.
The sky was a hazy grey, giving a sense of great oppression.
I went to work holding a black umbrella.
All along the way, I was restless, with a nagging feeling that something was about to happen.
With this mood, I arrived at the shop.
But when I opened the shop door,
I found my master sitting upright in a chair inside the room, dressed in a Zhongshan suit.
His eyes were wide open, staring at me from the doorway.
His expression seemed very stern.
Seeing my master like this, I put down my umbrella and greeted him:
"Master, are you going out today?"
Seeing me arrive at the shop, my master
nodded with a smile:
"Yes! Today, I am leaving."
Hearing my master's words, my heart suddenly tightened.
Leaving?
What did that mean? Where was he going?
"Master, where are you going?"
I asked.
But my master still smiled:
"To where I am meant to go."
Hearing this, I felt an even worse premonition.
Just as I was about to ask a few more questions,
my master raised his hand to stop me.
He continued to speak to me with a smile:
"Little Qin! Listen to your master finish speaking."
"Yes, yes, Master, please speak..."
I replied hastily, feeling an inexplicable anxiety.
Frowning, I stood still, just watching my master silently.
My master paused for a moment, then spoke:
"I have two regrets in my life.
First, I could not avenge my martial grandfather.
Second, I owe Yunxiao too much.
After I leave, you must be well.
Remember your original intentions, do not stray.
Listen to your martial uncle more; he will not harm you.
If, one day, you have the ability, you must kill Liang Lin to fulfill my wish.
Do you remember all this?"
"Master, please rest assured, I will strive hard."
I answered without any hesitation.
This was because I could tell that my master's state was not right.
My master's eyeballs hadn't moved at all, his eyelids unblinking for so long.
It felt as if he was holding onto his last breath,
as if he were saying his last words to me...
Hearing my reply, my master nodded slightly;
"That is good. With my departure, I can finally rest easy."
After speaking, my master gently closed his eyes.
But his body did not move at all, remaining rigidly seated in the chair.
Seeing this, I felt that something was amiss.
Even my heart felt a sense of dread and fear.
I hurried forward:
"Master, are you feeling unwell?"
After speaking, I took a few steps forward and took hold of my master's arm.
But upon touching him, my face suddenly changed dramatically, a hint of surprise appearing.
He was cold.
"Master, Master..."
I called out twice, my mind in turmoil.
As a result, my master's rigid body directly leaned back into the chair.
I instinctively reached for my master's neck.
I discovered that my master's neck was cold and very stiff, devoid of any warmth, and I could not feel a pulse.
Master was dead...
"Mas-Master..."
I called out again.
I shook him several times.
Master showed no reaction.
At the same moment, a gust of Yin wind suddenly blew into the shop from outside.
The chilling coldness caused goosebumps to erupt all over my body.
A few pieces of joss paper in the room were suddenly blown outside by the Yin wind.
In that instant, I realized that something was very wrong.
I quickly took out an Eye-Opening Talisman from my pocket.
Clutching it in my hand, I formed a sword finger and shouted urgently:
"Hasten as the law commands, open!"
The talisman flashed and turned to ash.
My heavenly eyes opened.
As my eyes opened, I saw that the three fires above my master's head had long since been extinguished.
Master had been dead for a while.
But Master had just been talking to me.
I suddenly turned my head and saw a mass of black mist drifting.
A shadow floated out from the doorway.
That was Master's soul.
"Master!"
I was filled with immense dread and turned to chase after him.
The weather outside remained gloomy, with no sun, and it was drizzling.
I rushed out onto the road.
I only saw two figures standing by the roadside to the west.
They were indistinct, dressed in what appeared to be ancient official robes, standing in the rain.
But the rain did not fall on them.
They held iron chains and steel forks, motionless.
And my master's soul was floating towards those two figures.
At the same time, my master suddenly turned around.
He was wearing his Zhongshan suit, his feet not touching the ground, his face turned extremely pale.
He looked at me, standing in the rain:
"The luckiest thing in my life was taking you as my disciple. Go back!"
As soon as he finished speaking,
a person suddenly rushed out from the Wanshou Hall opposite.
It was none other than my martial uncle, Tang Lin:
"You old fool!"
Martial uncle's face was filled with panic, his eyes wide as he looked at my master in the rain.
My master did not reply.
He only raised his right hand towards his martial uncle and gave him the middle finger.
Seeing this, my martial uncle's expression became anxious.
After giving the middle finger, my master turned and walked towards the two people holding steel forks and chains.
Martial uncle watched from afar; this time he did not scold my master, nor did he respond to the middle finger.
Instead, he shouted:
"Senior Brother, travel well!"
My master still did not reply, but waved his hand with his back to his martial uncle.
Seeing this,
my master's time had truly come, and those two figures in ancient official robes, holding steel forks and chains, were Yin Messengers.
They had come to escort Master to the underworld...