Chapter 35: Xue Fan and Tu Junfang

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“Hey, found some new targets?”

As soon as he answered the phone, Xia Ye asked directly. The person on the other end wasted no time either.

“That’s right—and this time, there are two!”

“Oh? Which two?” Xia Ye raised an eyebrow.

“Heh-heh. One is that fellow surnamed Xue. He lives in a village, so he’s not easy to track down. The other is Tu Junfang, who only showed himself last night.”

“Xue Fan and Tu Junfang, huh…” At the sound of those two names, Xia Ye narrowed his eyes slightly, then nodded. “All right. Where are they now?”

“Now… hold on.”

Before long, the other party sent him the precise location. It was a relatively remote village in Henan called Xue Family Village.

“Xue Fan is from this village. He’s twenty-three this year. After graduating from high school, he returned home and has been taking care of his bedridden grandfather ever since.”

Then the person on the phone could not help asking in confusion:

“But I thought the people you were looking for were all exceptionally gifted practitioners. This fellow is just an ordinary person. Why are you looking for him? Or… did I get the wrong man?”

“No, you found the right one. This is exactly the Xue Fan I’m looking for. If I’m not mistaken, his grandfather is close to death, isn’t he?” Xia Ye shook his head with a smile.

“Hey, how did you know that? You really can see everything coming!” The person on the other end was astonished. “If you’ve got that kind of ability, why do you still need me?”

“You’re overthinking it. I merely guessed—and happened to be right.” Xia Ye neither confirmed nor denied it. “Continue. What about Tu Junfang?”

“As for Tu Junfang, you know that he’s spent all these years searching everywhere for the lost secret techniques of the Three Demons Sect. That’s also why he joined Quanxing. Naturally, his appearance this time is connected to that.”

“Come to think of it, this is related to you as well. The disappearance of the Three Madmen should have been your doing, right? Someone in Quanxing divined that their life or death was currently unknown. They also knew that the three had gone to find Xia He, so they began making various guesses…”

“Guessing what?”

“Quite a few members of Quanxing know that the three of them sought Xia He in the first place to gather the ‘wine, sex, wealth, and anger’ and then explore a deeper form of ‘desire cultivation.’ If something truly went wrong during that process, it would be perfectly normal for divination to produce a result indicating that they were neither alive nor dead…”

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“And Tu Junfang joined Quanxing specifically to use its members for his research into the Three Corpses. The Three Demons Sect has always followed the path of the soul, so naturally he’s very interested in the matter. He’s currently investigating their whereabouts in Jiangxi!”

“I see…”

At that, Xia Ye could not help smiling. This truly was an unintended consequence. His attempt to recruit Xia He had actually drawn Tu Junfang out into the open.

“How interesting.”

“All right, then. Send me this fellow’s exact location and recent movements as well. Payment will be according to our usual arrangement.”

The other party readily agreed. “Sure, no problem!”

Before long…

Xia Ye received the precise locations of both men. He wrote them down on paper, then smiled faintly, his gaze sharpening.

Like Xiao Zizai and the others, Xue Fan and Tu Junfang were also among the initial targets he had selected. They met his requirements in every respect and possessed the ability to independently forge their own paths.

First, there was Xue Fan…

That fellow was something of a prodigy. Although he was still an ordinary person at present, he had already reached a crucial turning point. His innate supernatural ability, “Carrying the Banner to Buy Water,” would soon awaken.

The term “Carrying the Banner to Buy Water” came from a funeral ritual practiced by the people of China. Traditionally, it consisted of two parts—“carrying the banner” and “buying water”—and had been passed down from ancient times.

In the traditional custom, “carrying the banner” referred to the filial son holding a pole on the day of the funeral procession, with a strip of white cloth tied to its end and fluttering in the wind. This was called a “banner” and was used to announce the death.

Another explanation held that the banner was carried by the deceased’s eldest legitimate son or grandson, symbolizing the guidance of the departed soul toward heaven. For this reason, it was also called the “soul-guiding banner.”

“Buying water” meant “buying water from Heaven.” On the day the corpse was placed in the coffin, the filial son would carry a bowl while weeping bitterly along the streets. Upon reaching a place with a ferry landing, he would throw a few coins into the river, fill the bowl with water, and return home to wipe the body three times from head to foot, cleansing the departed soul.

Once transformed into a supernatural ability, every implication of the ritual became reality. It could guide wandering souls and wild ghosts throughout heaven and earth, and it could also bring peace and purity to the dead—somewhat resembling the methods of the Witchcraft lineage.

In the original story of *Under One Person*, Xue Fan joined Quanxing after awakening his ability. He later participated in the Quanxing assault on the mountain following the Luotian Grand Ceremony. Relying on this power, he fought three young experts—Xiao Xiao, Xi, and Yun—alone, and even severed one of Xiao Xiao’s arms!

One had to remember that, judging by the time at which he awakened his ability, he had cultivated his inner energy for no more than five years at most. In just five years, he was able to fight three peers who had each practiced for more than twenty years. His talent was self-evident.

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At the same time, Xia Ye knew very well that this fellow had not joined Quanxing to commit evil. His ideals simply differed from those of the world around him, and he refused to go along with the crowd. In the end, he became a “free man” in the truest sense…

That undoubtedly made him a perfect fit for Xia Ye’s requirements.

As for Tu Junfang, the matter was even simpler. The Three Demons Sect to which he belonged had originally been an orthodox and respected sect. However, in the 1940s, the entire sect had taken part in the war to resist the enemy, ultimately leading to its destruction.

Fortunately, several disciples of the Three Demons Sect had survived. They remained in seclusion until the present day, which was how Tu Junfang came to be. However, the sect’s secret art of “Severing the Three Corpses” had already been lost, and he now sought to restore it.

Thus, just as the person on the phone had said, Tu Junfang had joined Quanxing precisely to use its members as subjects for research and experimentation, hoping to deduce the lost secret art through his investigations…

On this point, Xia Ye could naturally help him. Moreover, the “Three Corpses Method” he possessed represented the ultimate path of cultivating one’s nature. It corresponded perfectly with the “Way of the Soul”—which was exactly what Xia Ye needed.

With that thought, Xia Ye smiled and immediately rose to his feet.

Since both targets had appeared at the same time, and he wanted to ensure that he could make contact with each of them, they would naturally have to split into two groups. Fortunately, with Xia He having joined them, they were no longer short-handed.

He pushed open the door and called out to the three people who were preparing to head to the waterfall for joint cultivation:

“Old Xiao, Xia He, put today’s training on hold. I have a new mission for you.”

With that, he handed the two slips of paper in his hand to them. He had already decided who would go where.

“Old Xiao, you’ll take Duoduo again this time. The two of you will go find Xue Fan. Don’t alert him prematurely. Wait until his ability awakens, then reveal yourselves and invite him to join us. I’ll handle the negotiations as before…”

“Xia He, you’ll go find Tu Junfang. Since you’ve already mastered the Soul-Locking Corpse-Control Technique, take those three fellows with you as well. Once you arrive, simply await my instructions…”

“All right. Move out!”