Upon reaching the park, the place was a bustling throng of people coming and going in chaotic disarray. The entire park was constructed in the style of ancient, ornate gateway architecture. Zhou Huan stopped the car only briefly, then immediately drove back toward Fushou Hall.

“Master, why didn’t we go up and take a look just now?” Li Tianxiong asked Zhou Huan.

Zhou Huan replied, “The little coffin hasn’t been dealt with yet. But just looking at the Feng Shui structure of Yuanbaoshan, it would be strange if nothing happened. Although there are temples densely packed in the mountains, it’s inevitable that lonely souls and wild ghosts will cause disturbances. Our car will wait right by the entrance; we’re going back to nail the coffin shut!”

The master and his two disciples entered the room. Zhou Huan first placed the glass vial containing the infant on the offering table traditionally used for temporary incense burning during funerals. He then lit three sticks of incense. Dongzi, following the methods he had learned, inserted the incense into the censer. He then turned around, arranged some fruits and other offerings, and murmured, “Little one, sleep well. Don’t be mischievous now that you have food and drink!”

Zhou Huan and Li Tianxiong unceremoniously dumped the fragments of the coffin board that Hong Kun had retrieved onto the table, and began piecing the fragments together one by one. After more than ten minutes of assembly, the original small coffin was restored to its shape. They then secured it with strong adhesive and brushed it with a layer of cinnabar powder. The coffin that had been blasted open now looked surprisingly sturdy.

Zhou Huan turned the little coffin over and over, examining it closely. Li Tianxiong leaned on his chair, also scrutinizing it, while Dongzi, brimming with curiosity, circled around the small coffin in Zhou Huan’s hands.

“Brother, what is this thing? It’s so small, and so exquisitely made!” Dongzi, unaware, asked the question.

Zhou Huan was very patient. “This is a small coffin. That little fellow we just saw came out of this.”

Dongzi glanced back at the infant in the vial. The infant’s pupils were staring directly at him. Dongzi gasped, taking a sharp intake of breath: Why is this thing staring at me constantly?

“Master, we’ve looked at this little coffin how many times, but I haven’t noticed anything special about it, except that I can’t decipher the patterns on it,” Li Tianxiong said, looking at the small coffin. He then asked Zhou Huan, “Right, Master, why did this little coffin explode at the old lady’s house just now?”

“I’m thinking about that too. The explosion was likely because we didn't figure out the mechanism on this little coffin and opened it recklessly,” Zhou Huan gently placed the small coffin back on the table, then called out to Dongzi, “Dongzi, help me get some paper and a brush!”

Dongzi quickly prepared the paper and writing implements and brought them over, but he had grabbed a ballpoint pen.

“I don’t need a ballpoint pen. Bring the calligraphy brush and inkstone from my study. I need to draw all the patterns on this onto paper to study them slowly. We need to seal this little coffin with a talisman first.”

Dongzi hurried to fetch the brush and inkstone. Li Tianxiong stepped forward to help grind the ink. Zhou Huan turned the brush in his mouth, wetting the tip thoroughly. When he turned back, Li Tianxiong had already prepared the ink.

Dipping the brush into the thick ink, Zhou Huan began drawing according to the patterns on the coffin, meticulously noting the precise location of each pattern on the coffin. Afterward, he grabbed a handful of talisman paper, drew a sealing charm on it with the brush, and then handed the small coffin to Dongzi. “Place this next to the little infant, and quickly draw a Ghost-Repelling Talisman and stick it on the hanging banner above the offering table!”

Dongzi agreed, then raised his hand to draw the Ghost-Repelling Talisman and affixed it to the banner above the offering table.

The patterns drawn on the paper were identical to those on the small coffin. The reason Zhou Huan used a calligraphy brush to copy them was that the patterns on the coffin had variations in depth and line thickness.

Li Tianxiong sat opposite Zhou Huan; one looked at the drawing normally, the other upside down, but what information these patterns conveyed could not be guessed immediately.

“Master, do you think these patterns are some kind of animals? Look at the first one; it looks like a rat. The second one looks like a tiger!” Li Tianxiong offered his opinion, then also picked up a brush to copy the designs onto his own paper.

Zhou Huan rested one hand on his chin, puzzling over these inexplicable markings. His mind kept replaying the events of opening the coffin—why would a coffin already sealed with a talisman explode the moment it was opened? This deeply confused Zhou Huan.

“Tianxiong, from my perspective, they look more like some ancient writing. I remember seeing these characters before, but I just can’t recall what they were used for. In my memory, these symbols didn't carry any special meaning,” Zhou Huan recalled events from his previous life.

After sticking the talisman, Dongzi pulled up a stool and sat beside Zhou Huan, grinning widely, “Brother, what are you two looking at?”

“They should be some kind of writing, but we can’t read them!”

Hearing this, Dongzi looked utterly exasperated, slapped his thigh once, and declared, “Hah! Brother, if you can’t read them, just look them up in a dictionary! Why are you two struggling so much?”

This seemingly nonsensical remark annoyed Zhou Huan. Without even looking, he raised his hand and slapped Dongzi, “Stop spouting nonsense!”

Zhou Huan’s large hand shot toward Dongzi’s forehead like the wind, but what Zhou Huan never expected was that Dongzi crossed his arms and blocked the incoming strike: “Hey, Brother, Dongzi is already slow enough; don’t hit my head anymore!”

Dongzi’s words surprised Zhou Huan greatly. A slight feeling of comfort settled in Zhou Huan’s heart, because this single action proved Dongzi had matured; he was no longer as single-minded as before—at least now he was one-and-a-half-minded. Therefore, after Dongzi blocked his hand, Zhou Huan didn't scold him but simply smiled faintly and let it pass: “Fine, you even dare to block your big brother’s Five Finger Mountain now. I won’t hit you anymore, then.”

Zhou Huan’s and Dongzi’s exchange did not disturb Li Tianxiong, who continued to examine the patterns on the paper from various angles. After looking for over ten minutes, Li Tianxiong threw the paper onto the table. “Master, I truly can’t make out anything else. To me, they all look like several animals. I’ve written down the names of the animals I see.” He then handed the paper in his hand to Zhou Huan.

Dongzi snatched the paper before Zhou Huan could and looked closely. After just a few glances, he thrust the paper in front of Zhou Huan: “Brother, you can’t deny it, these patterns really do look like these animals.”

Zhou Huan took the paper and held it before him. “Hmm, if you look at it upside down, they really are these animals. But if you look at it normally, they aren't animals; they must be text.” Zhou Huan showed Li Tianxiong the drawing, complete with notations, turned upside down.

“Master, what do these characters mean?”

“I can’t quite recall, but I definitely have seen these characters before!” Zhou Huan stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and racked his brain, trying to remember past events. After pacing back and forth in the room a few times, he let out a long breath. “Ah, Tianxiong! This matter requires troubling your former master. You need to run back to Mount Wutai for a trip. Your former master is the only one I know who has dealt with these characters before. I will spend more time thinking about it here.”

“Alright, I’ll leave immediately. I’ll take a bus to Dalian tonight and fly back tomorrow.”

“Go quickly and return quickly!”

Dongzi helped Li Tianxiong pack some essentials. Tianxiong left and took a car to Dalian...

A night passed. Just as dawn broke, Zhou Huan, his eyes hazy, reached out to grab his clothes but couldn't find them anywhere. He got up and searched everywhere; all the clothes in the entire room were gone. Zhou Huan had no choice but to dress only in his underwear and run out. He pushed open Dongzi’s door, intending to ask about the whereabouts of his clothes, but upon opening it, he didn't see Dongzi’s silhouette.

Zhou Huan became anxious. He shouted loudly, “Dongzi, Dongzi!”

“Hey! Brother, I’m busy right now!” Dongzi’s voice came from the backyard.

Zhou Huan followed the sound out the door and, looking intently into the backyard, saw Dongzi actually washing clothes. There were three full basins piled high. This greatly surprised Zhou Huan. When had Dongzi become so diligent? It seemed Dongzi had truly grown up!

“Why are you up so early? You should have told me you were washing clothes,” Zhou Huan didn’t intend to blame Dongzi, and his tone was very gentle.

Dongzi turned around, grinned, and squinted with a smile, “Brother, I couldn’t sleep this morning. When I woke up, it was only around three o’clock, so I thought I’d wash some clothes. My own few items weren’t enough to wash, which was no fun, so I went into your room and took out all your clothes to wash them.”

“Heh heh, that’s good. It’s rare for our Dongzi to be this diligent. Then you keep washing; I’ll go back and find some clean clothes to wear!” Zhou Huan returned to his room, opened the closet, and pulled out a new set of clothes that Xiao He had bought for him before she left.

The clock struck; Zhou Huan glanced at the timepiece. Six o’clock sharp.

“Brother, breakfast is ready, let’s eat. The tools we need for today’s errands have already been packed into the trunk of our car.” Dongzi turned and went to the kitchen, bringing out breakfast and placing it on the table.

After eating breakfast, the two left, got into the car, and drove straight to Mr. Old Wang’s company.

Upon arriving at Mr. Old Wang’s company, Zhou Huan called Mr. Old Wang. Soon after, Mr. Old Wang came down with two bodyguards. Zhou Huan got out of the car and went forward to exchange pleasantries.

“How is it, Master Zhou? Does this car drive comfortably?”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Old Wang. Having this car to drive for work in the future will make things much more convenient. I wonder how Wang Qiang is doing lately?” Zhou Huan was still very concerned about Wang Qiang’s current situation, so he asked Mr. Old Wang.

Mr. Old Wang replied, “I have already sent him to Baoguang Temple, hoping he can find some spiritual solace there.”

“That’s good. Let’s get going then!”

At this moment, a person emerged from behind Mr. Old Wang. “Boss, you have an important ceremony to attend this morning. Do you think we can make it back on time?”

“It doesn’t matter if I attend the ceremony or not; the main thing is that the funds are transferred so that children who cannot afford to study can have schooling. Have Ah Rang represent me at the ceremony later,” Mr. Old Wang instructed before getting directly into the car, the two bodyguards following behind. The man who spoke acknowledged the instruction and left.

Zhou Huan drove the car, following Mr. Old Wang’s motorcade. Several cars drove for over forty minutes before they reached their destination.