The antique dealer told Elder Li that after he acquired the jade bottle, his household was plagued by misfortunes. A wandering Taoist priest advised him that the jade bottle was unholy and suggested either discarding it or storing it in a peach wood box.
The priest claimed this was no ordinary peach wood, but wood from a lightning-struck peach tree that was a hundred years old. The imprint of the lightning strike on the wood, he said, made it an exceptional artifact for warding off evil.
Desperate, the antique dealer, having spent most of his savings on the jade bottle, couldn't bear to discard it. He paid one hundred thousand yuan for the peach wood box. He thought that at worst, he'd been duped, but what if the priest's words were true?
To his surprise, after storing the jade bottle in the peach wood box, the misfortunes in his home ceased. His business also began to flourish. He even visited the Taoist temple to thank the priest.
He explained this to the person who sold him the jade bottle, asking only for the box's cost of one hundred thousand yuan. However, the buyer found the box unsightly and believed he was being swindled, refusing to believe the story and purchasing only the jade bottle.
Elder Li, upon hearing this, thought the box might be useful in the future. Besides, one hundred thousand yuan was a negligible sum for him, so he took it.
Indeed, the box brought him good fortune.
"What good fortune did it bring you?" Ye Huohuo listened to Elder Li's account as if it were a story, thoroughly engrossed.
"Do you know who that Taoist priest was who sold the peach wood box to the antique dealer?"
"Who?" Ye Huohuo felt a sense of anticipation, as if something significant was about to be revealed.
Elder Li chuckled heartily. "It was your master, Xuanjizi! If not for acquiring this box, I wouldn't have known your master's name, nor would I have brought my fourth son to the temple for treatment later. Perhaps there wouldn't be this connection between you and Mo Han. So, tell me, didn't this box bring good luck?"
Li Yuan laughed until tears streamed from his eyes, only calming down after a while. "I haven't been this happy in a long time. You truly are this old man's source of joy!"
A flock of crows seemed to fly across Ye Huohuo's head. Her lips twitched. What was so funny?
However, Li Yuan's words sparked a thought: this box might indeed be an item from their Wuji Temple. She cleaned the box and ran her hand over it.
The entire exterior of the box was smooth, without any trace of carving, and not even a layer of varnish. It was pure, solid wood.
What surprised her was that the wood felt warm to the touch, becoming noticeably hot after a short while.
One wouldn't expect a wooden box, no matter how long it was held, to feel warm, as no wood naturally generates heat. Yet, this box became warm after just a brief period, like a hand warmer. Ye Huohuo, having been afflicted by negative energy, had only partially recovered from sun exposure, leaving residual Yin Sha Qi that blocked some of her meridians. Her hands and feet were cold, often feeling frigid.
But holding this box, she felt a surge of scorching Yang energy entering her body through the acupoints in her hands, dispersing the lingering Yin Sha Qi.
What was happening?
Could this box truly be a treasure?
Just then, a dark shadow squeezed through the half-open study door.
A gust of wind followed.
"Zi, Ziyang Treasure Casket! Zi, Ziyang Treasure Casket..." the elder brother, now a myna bird, circled the room, its voice filled with excitement.
Ye Huohuo slapped her forehead. Of course, the elder brother was here. Although he had transformed into a myna bird, he retained his memories.
Elder Li had mentioned acquiring the casket before seeking out her master to treat Li Mochen. At that time, Ye Huohuo had recently arrived at Wuji Temple and was still a child. However, Nie Ming was already a teenager and could remember events clearly.
It was evident that he recognized the peach wood box.
"Elder Brother, do you recognize this box? Is it truly a treasure of Wuji Temple?" Ye Huohuo asked, a tremor of excitement in her voice.
"Zi, Ziyang Treasure Casket, possessing extreme Yang power. Master foresaw someone coveting it. Shi, Master said, 'Better to be guarded against a thief than a malicious intent,' so he, he sold it!"
"What? Master sold such a treasure for a mere hundred thousand yuan?" Ye Huohuo knew her master, Xuanjizi, often acted eccentrically, but this was beyond her comprehension.
"Shi, Master said, they had no money to eat, peo, people were starving. A-and the Ziyang Treasure Casket was destined to leave Wuji Temple for a, a while. Rather than have it stolen, it was bet, better to sell it for some money to buy, buy good food. At that time, you weren't here yet. After selling it, Master took the four of us to eat, eat roast meat for several days! And, and fixed the leaking main, main hall! B-but Master also said that this box, box would eventually return. Now it seems, Master, he, his calculations were truly accurate! The box, box should return!" Nie Ming, stammering, finally managed to explain everything.
Now, not only Ye Huohuo understood, but Li Yuan, standing nearby, also grasped the situation. The old man chuckled a few times. "Your master indeed had a brilliant plan. Huo Huo is now my granddaughter-in-law. Forget a wooden box, I'd give you half of my Li family's assets. This box has gone full circle and returned to your Wuji Temple, and not only have I preserved it for you for so many years for free, but I also have to pay you one hundred thousand yuan! He calculated this outcome more than a decade ago! Truly worthy of the title 'Divine Calculator'!" Li Yuan's tone was laced with amusement.
Ye Huohuo felt a blush of embarrassment for her master.
She ran her hand over the lightning mark on the peach wood box. Whether it was an illusion, she seemed to hear a faint rumble of thunder in her ears.
"Elder Brother, since this box was coveted and even snatched from Master's hands, it must be extraordinary. What is its purpose?" Ye Huohuo asked Nie Ming, who had just landed on a large antique porcelain vase belonging to Li Yuan.
Li Yuan gazed at the large vase with some distress. It was a genuine Ru ware piece, and crafting such a large vase back then would have been an immense undertaking. To have survived numerous wars and remained intact made it even rarer. He feared that the large myna bird's vigorous flapping might topple his precious artifact. Cautiously, the old man approached and retrieved a clothes hanger from a corner of the room. "I say, nephew, you stand on this, it's comfortable for you. That vase is hard; it must be uncomfortable for you to grip."
Ye Huohuo secretly chuckled. She thought her grandfather was worried about the vase but too proud to say it directly. The old man was truly amusing.
Although Nie Ming appeared to be a myna bird, his spiritual consciousness was normal and akin to human thought. He obediently landed on the clothes hanger, and Li Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, his heart at ease.
"Elder Brother, tell me, what is the use of this box?"
"I'm not entirely sure of its specific function. Master only mentioned that it was personally crafted by a highly skilled Taoist priest from the late Qing Dynasty. Legend has it that the priest searched for over a decade for this kind of century-old lightning-struck peach wood. It was a time of turmoil, and he narrowly escaped death several times. Finally, he found a prime piece of lightning-struck peach wood and used a special method, meticulously carving it for forty-nine days. As for what he intended to do with this box, Master never revealed it. He claimed ignorance, but I suspect he knew and chose not to say. However, the priest died protecting the common folk. It's said he was battling a demon, and if that demon hadn't been vanquished, an entire city's populace might have perished." When Nie Ming was calm, his speech was relatively fluent. At this moment, his tone carried a hint of reverence and emotion.
Ye Huohuo caressed the peach wood box, feeling the waves of warmth flow into her fingertips. Her confusion deepened. The effort the priest had put into creating this box must have been for a significant purpose. But what exactly was it? Her master wouldn't say, yet someone sought to steal it. The mystery behind it...