Chapter 45: The Age of Dharma's End

That troublesome ghost infant was finally slain. At this moment, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed in Yang Sheng's mind:

"Triggered side quest: Investigate the root cause of the bizarre changes in Chungking Mansions.
Reward: For every mission-related ghost slain, a Dharma-Borrowing Spirit Seal will be granted, taking effect immediately.
Acquired: Wood-attribute Dharma-Borrowing Spirit Seal.
(Human effort has its limits, but the power of heaven and earth is infinite. The foundation of Maoshan arts and talismans lies in borrowing power—relying on seals, talismans, and rituals to borrow the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in exchange for various supernatural powers.)"

In Yang Sheng's perception, it felt as though something had been added to his mind, making him extremely sensitive to the wood-attribute energy in his surroundings.

Is this the Dharma-Borrowing Spirit Seal?

Before Yang Sheng could study it closely, Ah You had already produced a red rope, bound the corpse of the ghost infant on the floor, and stuffed it into a cloth bag embroidered with a Tai Chi pattern.

That cloth bag was only about the size of a palm, yet it was able to hold an entire infant.

Glancing at Yang Sheng, Ah You said indifferently: "Although this kind of ghost has been slain, its physical body leaves behind yin energy that won't dissipate. If it isn't sealed, it will affect other people."

"Many thanks to Boss Chen for your timely rescue. Are you a Taoist priest?"

Chen You shook his head and said, "I used to be. Being a Taoist priest nowadays doesn't even put food on the table. Follow me."

Before Yang Sheng could reply, Chen You walked straight toward the end of the corridor.

The door to a room at the end of the corridor was open. Chen You and Yang Sheng walked inside, and both frowned simultaneously.

Every window in this room was sealed with yellow talisman paper, with various incantations drawn upon them in fresh blood.

The surrounding area was cluttered with transparent jars and bottles, which surprisingly all contained unformed infants or various remains of babies!

There were no lights in the entire room; only a small white candle was burning, exuding a pungent, rotting stench.

Chen You stepped forward, sniffed the air, and frowned, "Corpse-fat candle."

Yang Sheng asked, "What on earth is this woman's background?"

Chen You let out a soft sigh: "That woman is called Lin Shuyi, but we all call her Mrs. He.

She was a girl who walked out of the slums of Chungking Mansions, married a wealthy husband, and moved into a villa.

Originally, everything was going fairly well, but when she finally gave birth to a son, he passed away before even reaching a month old.

Her husband's family believed it was entirely her fault and began to ostracize her. Her husband also sought out a new lover, and after the new lover gave birth to a son, he divorced her.

After returning to Chungking Mansions, Mrs. He's mental state became somewhat unstable, and she insisted that everyone continue calling her Mrs. He.

Normally, she would push an empty baby stroller around all day long, but who could have imagined that she would actually raise a ghost infant?

Where on earth did she get such heterodox methods?"

Chen You flicked out a yellow talisman, instantly extinguishing the corpse-fat candle, and locked the door securely after stepping out of the room.

Yang Sheng wanted to press Chen You further about Taoist magic and the affairs within Chungking Mansions, but before he could ask, Chen You seemed to have guessed what he was going to say and stated directly:

"Kid, save your questions for tomorrow.
Making a ruckus in the middle of the night and keeping people awake—don't you know that insomnia at an older age causes hair loss?"

With an impatient wave of his hand, Chen You turned around and left directly.

Yang Sheng watched Chen You depart, a trace of probing inquiry in his gaze.

This world was clearly abnormal, and for the next six days, he could expect to encounter such dark and malevolent ghosts every single night.

The appetizer on the first day was already this explosive; heaven knows what kind of entities he would run into next.

Although Chen You claimed he was no longer a Taoist priest, his mastery of Taoist magic was truly astonishing.

Using brute force alone to slay ghosts was rather exhausting; if he wanted to successfully complete the mission, the key probably lay with this Chen You.

Yang Sheng originally wanted to continue his patrol, but he suddenly noticed that the mission to patrol Chungking Mansions had changed to 1/7.

He had only taken a single patrol around the second floor, and that counted as completing the task?

Could it be that the true requirement of the mission wasn't patrolling at all, but rather eliminating a ghost?

Yang Sheng did not probe any further. Since the mission was considered complete, he temporarily returned to the guard room to rest and conserve his energy.

However, in a bizarre place like Chungking Mansions, heaven knows whether the first-floor guard room was safe; Yang Sheng even hugged his Imperial Guard saber while sleeping.

Because he was afraid that if he were startled awake from his sleep, he wouldn't be able to concentrate in time to retrieve the Imperial Guard saber from his storage space.

He slept straight through until the morning of the next day. After a quick wash, Yang Sheng went straight to You Kee Restaurant to find Chen You.

Seeing Yang Sheng arrive, Chen You first gestured for him to sit in a corner far away from the other diners.

Then, he personally stir-fried a bowl of glutinous rice, placed it in front of Yang Sheng, lit a cigarette, and looked at Yang Sheng with displeasure: "Don't discuss these things in broad daylight in front of others. Aren't you afraid of being treated like a lunatic?"

Yang Sheng took a bite of the glutinous rice; it was rich, savory, and truly delicious.

No wonder You Kee's business was always booming, with diners coming from morning till night.

"Boss Chen, did you always know that there were ghosts inside Chungking Mansions?"

Chen You blew out a ring of smoke and said indifferently, "I'm not blind, of course I knew.
And stop calling me Boss Chen. Can running a half-dead little restaurant make someone a boss? I feel like you're mocking me. Just call me Brother You."

"Since Brother You can see those ghosts, why haven't you wiped them out with your strength?"

Chen You sneered, "So what if they're ghosts? They might have lived here decades or hundreds of years ago; we're the ones who came later.
To exterminate them just because we possess a few tricks—what is that if not being a bandit?"

"What about Mrs. He then? Some of the infants she used to refine the ghost infant certainly don't look like babies who died of natural causes."

Chen You paused, his expression turning slightly solemn, and then shook his shoes—er, shook his head and said, "I don't know. A woman like her shouldn't be able to handle such heterodox secret arts.
Besides, Mrs. He's mental state has always been a bit unstable, which is why I never paid much attention to her.
If you hadn't provoked the ghost infant into showing its hand yesterday, I wouldn't have known she had actually refined such a vicious thing."

The side quest was to investigate the root cause of the bizarre changes in Chungking Mansions. With the mission phrased this way, it proved that although ghosts had existed in Chungking Mansions before, they were merely normal spirits that had died decades or centuries ago, rather than heterodox abominations like ghost infants.

Since Chen You said the same, it could be deduced that the bizarre changes in Chungking Mansions had only begun recently.

Yang Sheng paused, eating his glutinous rice, and asked, "With your formidable Taoist magic, Brother You, why didn't you continue being a priest instead of stir-frying glutinous rice here?"

Chen You sneered, pulled a handful of glutinous rice from his pajama pocket, and watched the crystal-clear grains scatter across the table one by one.

"What's the use of having high-level Taoist magic? Can it fill your stomach?
In the past, Taoist priests all had acquainted rice shop owners, and the relationships were passed down from generation to generation.
Exorcising corpses, collecting bounties, buying glutinous rice, building Taoist temples.
But nowadays, when people die, they're hauled straight off to be cremated. Without corpses to exorcise, what is the point of a Taoist priest's existence?
Fortune-telling for people? We can't even see through our own fates.
My senior martial brother possessed the true legacy of Maoshan arts, and his Taoist magic was ten times, a hundred times stronger than mine, yet in the end, when he died, he couldn't even afford a plot of graveyard land!"

At this, a hint of derision appeared on Chen You's face.

"Hong Kong is a place where every inch of land is worth gold. Living people can't even afford houses, let alone a dead person.
Taoist priests are human too, and we need to make a living.
Using magic to harm people for profit brings karmic retribution and heavenly condemnation.
Since I'm not willing to put on a god-pretending act to swindle money, I can only stir-fry glutinous rice here, can't I?"

In Chen You, Yang Sheng felt as though he saw the shadow of Tan BaiKuan.

One was the sorrow of the declining martial arts era, while the other was the sorrow of the Dharma-ending age.

Only, Chen You was more extreme than Tan BaiKuan, having reached a point of misanthropy.

Tan BaiKuan could still sell his services to the Number Gang and make money through shady side-hustles.

Yet Chen You would rather stir-fry glutinous rice here than ever use his Maoshan arts to make a living.

Yang Sheng put down his bowl and said in a deep voice, "Brother You, the ghosts in Chungking Mansions are definitely more than just that ghost infant.
Since you don't wish to take action, could you pass down some Maoshan arts to me so that I can eliminate them?"

Yang Sheng had already coveted Chen You's Maoshan arts since last night.

This world was bizarre and peculiar; relying solely on brute force to subdue these ghosts simply would not work.

Therefore, he also wanted to test whether Chen You was willing to teach him Maoshan magic.

Anything he came into contact with would transform into purchasing privileges during the Samsara world settlement, requiring Samsara points to buy.

However, if Chen You bestowed it upon him directly, things he learned himself shouldn't need to be purchased, right?

Much like the national martial arts mastery he had awakened in the Kowloon Walled City arena, which naturally belonged to him by default.