The Days I Walked as a Yin-Yang Master: Secrets and Spirits

When Uncle Nine saw the talisman I was holding, his eyes lit up, and he asked me to show it to him. After carefully examining it, he praised, "The Mountain Heaven Great Animal Array Transformation Talisman... I never expected that in this day and age, someone could still use the authentic hexagrams from the Three Clear Divination to create such a talisman. Young man, where did you get this talisman from?"

I didn't understand half of what he said about animals and talismans, so I just told him the story my grandmother had told me word-for-word.

After hearing it, Uncle Nine sighed, "I never thought you'd carry such heavy karma with you. That senior of yours is truly an extraordinary person. To turn divinatory hexagrams into talismans shows the depth of their Taoist skills. Young man, judging from this talisman, we seem to share some connection. Would you like to hear my story?"

I was definitely not interested in hearing his story. The old man was annoying, but I dared not voice my thoughts. After all, my chances of coming back to life were in his hands, so I could only nod.

Uncle Nine gazed at the talisman in my hand, then looked up at the sky above the Yin Market—always shrouded in darkness—and began telling me his story.

It turns out that in his past life, Uncle Nine was also in the business of the underworld. He was born in Shanghai in 1934, during the time of the War of Resistance against Japan. His family was poor, and when he was seven years old, his parents died in the war. Forced to survive, he begged on the streets. Two years later, a wandering Taoist priest noticed the Taoist aura in him and took him in as a disciple. This Taoist priest was named Han You, with the Taoist name Jingxian Dao Ren. The priest traveled with him, teaching him authentic Maoshan Taoist techniques and passing down the precious Three Clear Cloth Talisman Scripture.

Uncle Nine proved to be a gifted student, and within ten years, he had made considerable progress. By the time he was twenty-two, he was able to handle demons and evil spirits on his own.

When he was twenty-five, Han You ascended to heaven after his physical body was dissolved. Uncle Nine inherited his master's legacy and traveled the world, vanquishing demons and evil spirits. He had no children, only two disciples. But due to their poor character and lack of true dedication, he never passed on the Three Clear Talisman to them.

In March 1975, while traveling through Liaoning, the trio encountered a severe drought. Near Mount Wulü, they encountered a 'ba' (a type of evil spirit that had turned into a powerful zombie). Uncle Nine and his disciples fought the creature fiercely and pursued it to a remote cave in the mountains. After confirming that the creature had become a ba—a being who could resist thunder and lightning—Uncle Nine realized they couldn't defeat it by normal means.

According to the Shenyi Jing, "In the South, there is a being, two to three feet tall, exposed from the waist up, eyes on top of its head, moving like the wind, named Ba. Wherever it goes, it causes extreme drought, leaving the land barren for miles." A ba zombie could fly, devour dragons, and was impervious to weapons. Even with the combined strength of Uncle Nine and his disciples, they couldn't defeat it. In the end, Uncle Nine had to use his own blood to summon the Three Clear Talisman's "Rain Master Water Cleansing Talisman," changing the underground water currents to trap the ba in the cave.

Unfortunately, the attack was too sudden, and Uncle Nine didn't have time to pass on the Three Clear Talisman to his disciples. His physical body merged with the underground water system and stayed forever in the cave. After his ghost arrived in the Yin Market, Uncle Nine deeply regretted not passing on the Three Clear Talisman to anyone. He felt that if he ever met his master again, he would have no face to meet him.

So, Uncle Nine set up a small stall in front of the inn called "Half Step More" in the Yin Market, waiting for someone with a chance to return to the living to come. This way, the Three Clear Talisman could be passed down again. But it was hard to find anyone capable of returning to life after death, especially after the Cultural Revolution, when most capable individuals had either died or gone into hiding. Still, Uncle Nine didn't give up. Decades later, he encountered me—a man who hadn't completely died yet.

Once again, I was stunned. If it weren't for how real everything felt, I would have thought I was dreaming. This was just too strange, too unbelievable. How could a zombie be involved in all this? If I didn't hear him explain everything so clearly, especially the history of my talisman, I would have dismissed him as just another storyteller.

But I understood the gist. It seemed that Uncle Nine saw something special in my bones and wanted to take me as his disciple. It seemed that I would have to carry the weight of maintaining world peace. To be honest, I wasn't too interested in ghosts and spirits, especially in this modern age. Even if a thousand-year-old zombie was invulnerable to blades and guns, I wouldn't believe an RPG missile couldn't take it out.

However, I was still unsure if I was alive or dead. Right now, finding a way to return to the living world was the most important thing. So, I asked him, "Uncle Nine, your story is truly incredible. Do you want to take me as your disciple?"

Uncle Nine sighed, looked at me, and said, "Your talent might be a bit lacking, but your birth chart shows a strong wood element, so it's clear you have a good heart. Besides, I have no other options now."

I was a bit taken aback by his bluntness. Although I hadn't achieved much in my seventeen years, did he really have to say it so harshly? Still, since I had no choice but to lower my pride, I replied, "I'm willing to become your disciple, but how do I return to the living world?"

Upon hearing this, Uncle Nine smiled slightly. He stood up, pointed to the north, and said, "Based on your arrival time, you will be fine in the living world for twelve hours. The twelve hours in the living world equals twelve days here. In two days, I will send a dream to your family, instructing them to release a yellow chicken at the tenth hour to guide you. Then, you can ride the chicken and return to the world of the living."

Upon hearing this, I was immediately filled with hope. I wasn't an idiot, so I quickly kneeled before him, just like in the TV dramas, and said, "Thank you, Master!"

Uncle Nine looked at me with a mix of excitement and emotion. He had been waiting for so many years for a chance like this, and now he had finally found someone to inherit his legacy. He helped me up and said, "Xiao Fei, since you are now a soul, your learning speed will be much faster than usual. In the next ten days, I will teach you the Three Clear Talisman by heart and guide you into the Dao. After you return to the living world, you must practice diligently. I believe with time, you will succeed."

I nodded. Uncle Nine wasted no time and began explaining the origins and contents of the Three Clear Talisman.