Li Qingxian realized the enemy had another motive. He tidied himself up, went to the Chunfeng Inn, and told Zhou Chunfeng what had happened.
Finally, Li Qingxian said, "Uncle Zhou, having a Life Maggot attach to one’s Life Mansion is a technique used by Fate Masters. It’s specifically designed to corrupt a person’s Fate Grid and Qi Fortune. Although it’s only temporary, it can cause a significant drop in their fortune, making them an easier target."
Zhou Chunfeng pondered for a moment before asking, "How is a Life Maggot made?"
"You take a heavily or even extremely inauspicious Fate Grid and send it into the Life Mansion of a truly vile and evil person. Then, you refine the person along with their Life Mansion. The Righteous Dao of the Fate Skill Realm despises this method, which is why it was named ’Life Maggot’ to signify its vileness."
"Are you certain you weren’t the target?"
"Completely certain," Li Qingxian said. "We Fate Masters have to mentally enter our Life Mansions to sense Fate Skill Power, so we’d notice a Life Maggot almost immediately if it attached itself to one. Besides, that Fate Master isn’t high-grade—Sixth Grade at most. If they directly targeted someone with a strong Fate Grid, they would undoubtedly fail. However, they can use a Fate Skill to disguise the Life Maggot with my power, preventing it from being rejected by the Fate Grids of those close to me."
After speaking, Li Qingxian glanced suspiciously at Zhou Chunfeng. "Uncle Zhou, their target couldn’t be you, could it?"
"It’s not out of the question." Zhou Chunfeng nodded slightly.
"Then you’d better be careful..." Li Qingxian said. "I’ll get right on making a powerful Half-Life Person for you."
"I’ve heard of them. What are they, exactly?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.
Li Qingxian explained, "You expend four Destiny Stars to create an Illusionary Fate Formation, which is then placed into a refined Life Shadow. The Life Shadow then transforms into a Half-Life Person. But you’ll have to trust me. The refining process requires me to snip off a piece of your shadow, and I’ll also need your blood, fingernails, hair, and other things."
"Is it very effective?"
Li Qingxian nodded. "Let me put it this way: if a regular Wooden Talisman Person can block a single blade strike, and a Life Substitution Wood Child can take a blow that would cost you half your life, then a Half-Life Person can take a blow that would cost you your entire life."
"I know a little about Destiny Stars. They’re not easy to come by. Won’t this be too costly?"
Li Qingxian chuckled. "How could I have the power to create a complete Half-Life Person? I can only make a Fake Destiny Person—something a little stronger than a Life Substitution Wood Child, but much weaker than a true Half-Life Person. A single Destiny Star will suffice."
Zhou Chunfeng thought for a moment. "You have a point. Still, not only are few Fate Masters willing to sell Destiny Stars, but they are also incredibly valuable, easily going for tens or even hundreds of thousands. They’re usually bartered. How about this? I have some savings..."
Li Qingxian smiled. "Uncle Zhou, now you’re treating me like a stranger. The set of the Five Thunders True Method and your book collection are more than worth the price. If you really feel indebted, just put in a few good words for me the next time you see Sister Youfei."
Zhou Chunfeng was exasperated. "You’re never serious. Are you sure this won’t be too difficult?"
"It’s really not that difficult, but the preparation takes a long time—at least ten days. I’ll also need to acquire some special Life Materials," Li Qingxian said.
"Tell me what you need. I’ll give you anything I can get my hands on."
Li Qingxian said, "A lock of your hair, about a hundred strands. Then ten drops of fresh blood and ten nail clippings. A complete set of clothes, shoes, a hat, and accessories. A set of items you frequently touch, like your writing tools. And finally, I need to snip off a corner of your shadow. After it’s cut, you’ll suffer a minor illness, but taking a restorative tonic beforehand can alleviate the symptoms."
"How interesting," Zhou Chunfeng remarked.
"Once the piece of your shadow is cut, it won’t grow back. Moreover, the gap it leaves can be easily exploited by certain Fate Skills. Because of that, you’ll need to use the Shadow Repairing Skill. I don’t know how to perform it, so you’ll have to get help from Lord Guo Xiang. The Shadow Repairing Skill isn’t difficult, just a bit of a hassle."
"Alright. I’ll go find Guo Xiang after you’ve cut my shadow."
Zhou Chunfeng went into his room and retrieved a full set of clothes, shoes, and a hat. He also gathered his writing tools from the desk, along with his hair, blood, and nail clippings, and gave them all to Li Qingxian.
Li Qingxian took the items and said, "Come on, let’s go out into the sun. This is an Essence Replenishing Pill. Take it now."
Zhou Chunfeng took the pill, placed it in his mouth, and used his Literary Qi to guide it down.
The two of them walked into the courtyard. Afternoon sunlight spilled down, casting their two dark shadows onto the ground.
Li Qingxian said, "Face south. The yang energy is stronger in that direction."
Zhou Chunfeng turned his body to face due south, and his shadow stretched out behind him.
Zhou Henn watched, looking up with curiosity.
Li Qingxian began chanting an incantation. He flicked the Spirit Talisman held between the fingers of his right hand. With a flash of fire, the Spirit Talisman transformed into a pair of scissors made from yellow paper.
White light shimmered over the scissors as runes flowed across their surface.
Holding a Yellow Talisman Paper Cup in his left hand and the yellow paper scissors in his right, Li Qingxian walked over to Zhou Chunfeng’s shadow. He carefully positioned the scissors over the part of the shadow corresponding to the sleeve cuff. With a gentle cut—SNIP—he then scooped at the spot with the Yellow Talisman Paper Cup.
Zhou Henn, watching from the side, stared intently and saw that a corner was indeed missing from the shadow of Zhou Chunfeng’s sleeve.
He glanced at Zhou Chunfeng’s actual sleeve; it was completely unchanged.
Li Qingxian sealed the Yellow Talisman Paper Cup. "There. It’ll take me a few days to slowly prepare the rest."
"No rush." Zhou Chunfeng turned and shifted his body. He quickly noticed the gap in his shadow, even though his sleeve was perfectly intact, and was secretly amazed.
A moment later, Zhou Chunfeng frowned slightly, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over him. It took a while for the sensation to pass.
The three of them returned to the house. Zhou Chunfeng asked, "How badly injured was that Fate Master?"
Li Qingxian replied, "Even though the Cowardly King always pretends to be weak, he’s a Third Grade master, a genuine Upper-Grade Official, and the Night Guard Commander to boot. His Qi Fortune is so immense that it’s nearly on par with a government Minister. That Fate Master is only Sixth Grade. Even if they only suffered a normal backlash, they’ll need a month to recuperate, and at least three months to fully recover."
"Excellent. That gives us an opportunity to counterattack. What do you think we should do?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.
"That depends on you," Li Qingxian said. "Do we go big, or do we swallow our pride and seek a compromise?"
"At this point, we have no choice. If we win, the worst that can happen is we offend the Demon Sect’s faction in the Ministry of Justice. If we lose, we’re utterly ruined," Zhou Chunfeng said.
Li Qingxian considered this, then said, "There are some Fate Skills that aren’t normally appropriate to use—most Fate Masters wouldn’t dare. But since they’ve resorted to an Evil Fate Skill, I no longer have any reservations about using a few special ones myself. However, to ensure everything goes smoothly, it would be best to have the Seal of the Duke of the Internal Factory. He would need to personally stamp it to authorize my actions."
"You want to mobilize Qi Fortune from various factions? You’re not thinking of establishing a Great Trend Formation, are you?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.
"Nothing that extreme," Li Qingxian said. "I purely intend to borrow the Qi Fortune from the various Government Offices to cause trouble for the Ministry of Justice. That’s a far cry from establishing a Great Trend Formation."
"Do you need anything special?"
"Yes. Besides needing the cooperation of the heads of the various Government Offices, I’ll also have to use up a Holy Decree. You should have a few. If you’re reluctant to part with one, I can use the ones I obtained in the mountains. I have over twenty of them, which is enough to last a long time. The power originates from the Jade Seal Inscription on it," Li Qingxian said.
Zhou Chunfeng mulled it over for a moment. "I do have quite a few Holy Decrees and pieces of calligraphy from over the years that have been stamped with the Jade Seal. Are these things really that useful to you?"
"Extremely. It’s just that Great Fate Masters generally don’t need them, and minor Fate Masters don’t dare use them. Only the most audacious ones have been secretly trying to acquire such items, but they risk a backlash. My status is special—I’m an actual official of the Imperial Court, so it’s fine for me to use them."
"True. Whenever items like these appear on the market, they’re snatched up instantly. They aren’t of much use to me, so I’ll give them all to you." As Zhou Chunfeng spoke, a stream of items flew out from his Qi Fortune Silver Fish Pouch.