Chapter Seventy-Six: The Strange Egg

As soon as Lu Chenyuan spoke, the sinister chill that had enveloped the Zhang merchant abruptly receded, and he found his body once more under his own command.

Barely recovering from his fright, he glanced up to see the youth before him still clad in homespun attire, looking entirely ordinary. The puppet in his arms was nothing but lifeless wood, showing no trace of the monstrous eyes or foul tongue he had imagined. The bizarre and supernatural visions from moments ago seemed no more than a fleeting dream, vanished without a trace.

Yet the icy dread that had taken root in his heart would not be dispelled, no matter how he tried.

He thought to himself, “The arts of the immortals are truly unfathomable—what matter if one reverses age or cheats death? This youth appears no older than sixteen or seventeen, but who can say he is not some ancient demon, centuries old, merely amusing himself among mortals?”

“I once thought that Master Li was a formidable figure among the heretical cults, yet compared to this one, he is but a minor spirit before an ancient deity.”

The more he dwelled on it, the more his fear grew. Having barely escaped the tiger’s den, he had blundered straight into the abyssal dragon’s lair. For a moment, he could only lament his abysmal fortune, cursing his fate in silence.

Not daring to move, the Zhang merchant bowed deeply, his voice trembling as he stammered, “Lu—Lu Master… I was blind and failed to see your exalted presence, offending your august person. I beg your pardon, and ask that you overlook the transgressions of a lowly man like myself. May I ask… what are your commands?”

His mind was a haze; he had no idea what this youth wanted, and his words tumbled out in confusion.

Hearing himself addressed as “Master,” Lu Chenyuan could not help but feel a wry amusement. For ten years he had wandered the world, no more than a lowly shophand summoned at the whim of others—never had he imagined anyone would one day call him “Master.”

He reflected that all he had done was to borrow the power of Wei Zhuo’s Dao foundation and the eerie abilities of that sinister puppet to cow this merchant—nothing more than a fox wielding the tiger’s might. An inexpressible feeling welled up within him.

Putting aside these myriad thoughts, Lu Chenyuan regarded the Zhang merchant and asked slowly, “What is it you’ve risked so much to retrieve?”

At these words, the merchant’s already bitter face twisted further, his smile more tragic than tears.

He knew that whatever he carried in his arms would not survive this day, yet compared to his own life, no treasure was precious enough to mourn. With this realization, his heart lightened somewhat.

Not daring to hesitate, he hurriedly drew forth a bundle wrapped in white cloth from his breast and offered it up with both hands.

When the wrappings were removed, there was revealed a jet-black egg, its surface etched with strange markings.

Holding the object above his head in reverence, the merchant said, “Master, this is the item. Three years ago, near Yu Ze Village in Western Yun Province, in a secret place seldom seen by men, I chanced upon it.”

“It appears to be the egg of some ancient beast, but my knowledge is shallow—I know neither its origin nor how to hatch it. I only thought that, with the Grand Tide Festival gathering so many experts, perhaps someone would recognize its worth and I could sell it for enough silver to secure my future.”

Lu Chenyuan’s eyes flickered at the mention of the demon kingdoms and Yu Ze Village.

Though untrained in the mystical arts, he had traveled widely with his master and was well-versed in the customs of the Nine Provinces.

The Four Demon Kingdoms squatted in the treacherous lands of four provinces, nominally vassals to the Grand Zhou Immortal Dynasty, but in truth, each ruled itself and brooked no human incursion—these were forbidden lands, shunned by mortal cultivators.

Curious, Lu Chenyuan asked, “You are but a traveling merchant—how did you traverse such distances and reach the edge of Yu Ze Village? Those secret places are filled with deadly traps. How did you enter, and moreover, how did you escape?”

The merchant’s face paled and he gave a nervous, bitter laugh. “Master, you see clearly… I have no such heaven-defying skills. To tell the truth, for three generations my family has served as mountain runners for the Western Commandery General’s household, seeking rare treasures for their collection. It sounds grand, but in reality, it means tying your life to your belt and chasing after wealth with death at your heels.”

His eyes brimmed with terror, as if reliving that land of certain death.

“Three years ago, the general’s household acquired a tattered ancient map, marking a bone mound on the borders of Yu Ze Village, rumored to hide an ancient treasure. On the general’s command, a Divine Spirit-level retainer led a dozen of us expert hands to seek it out.”

“That cursed place lived up to its reputation—the outskirts were ringed with demonic wards left by the demonfolk. We barely broke through with the household’s talismans, losing most of our number. Inside was worse: poison mists and monstrous beasts everywhere.”

“The Divine Spirit retainer was careless and fell to the poison miasma, dying on the spot and transforming into a winged demon, slaughtering us until blood ran like rivers.”

“My life is cheap—fleeing blindly, I tumbled into a hidden cavern. Fate was kind; that cave was a rare place of safety in that death trap. The black egg sat upon a stone altar at its heart.”

“I was scared witless, thinking only that this must be a treasure, so I snatched it and, following the faint signs of life, crawled out with my last strength. By the time I staggered back to camp, I found I was the only survivor.”

Lu Chenyuan listened quietly, watching the merchant’s still-frightened face, and asked, “Since this was the Western General’s errand, why did you not return the treasure, but instead brought it here to Zhenhaichuan for your own purposes?”

The fear on the merchant’s face melted into deep bitterness and self-mockery.

“Master, you do not know—the whole affair reeked of evil from the start. That I survived was sheer luck, but looking back, it felt as though we had walked straight into a trap, no more than stones marking the way for another.”

“If I had returned with the treasure, who’s to say the general wouldn’t have killed me on the spot to silence the only witness?”

“Rather than gamble on a man’s kindness, it seemed safer to sell it for silver and disappear, leaving the troubles of the martial world behind.”

“And so I changed my name and wandered here to Zhenhaichuan, just in time for the decennial tide festival, hoping to find a discerning buyer and bring this torment to an end.”

Lu Chenyuan found the merchant’s words sincere, with no sign of deceit. He glanced at the black egg the man had offered, falling into silence.

The merchant, seeing Lu Chenyuan lost in thought, assumed he was still suspicious. His anxiety mounting, he pushed the egg farther forward with trembling hands, pleading, “Master, I ask for your discernment! I only wished to exchange this thing for a little silver to live on. Now that I see you are a true immortal, I realize such treasures are not meant for commoners like me.”

“My search is over; before me stands the one fated to possess this object. I beg you, do not disdain it—accept it, and consider it as saving my entire family!”

With that, he held the egg aloft, scarcely daring to breathe, hoping the youth would show mercy.

After a long pause, Lu Chenyuan’s gaze drifted from the strange black egg back to the merchant’s face, where fear and hope mingled.

It is said that an ordinary man bears guilt for possessing a treasure—this object’s origins were shrouded in danger, tied to the mighty General’s household—a hot potato, indeed.

Yet he himself was already cursed, carrying a demonic puppet, standing at the edge of an abyss. What was one more disaster to a man so burdened?

As the saying goes, when lice are many, the itch is forgotten; when debts are many, one ceases to worry. Thinking thus, his doubts faded.

At last, Lu Chenyuan reached out and accepted the black egg.

The moment it touched his palm, he felt a strange heaviness—the egg looked small but was surprisingly weighty. Stranger still, a faint pulsing emanated from within the shell.

Without betraying his thoughts, Lu Chenyuan tucked the egg into his robe, then fixed his gaze once more on the merchant, the puppet resting quietly in his arms.

“And what do you know of Cashier Qian?” he asked.