Trafford’s Trading Club

Translator: AlfredoPoutineSoup  Editor: DesTheSloth

In this magical eastern country, there were monsters and Taoists. There were also previous and present lives.

Ordinary people may have their doubts, but Luo Qiu believed it.

You Ye said he had the ability to see the innermost thoughts of people clearly, but at this moment, he felt the man didn’t say anything.

Just like he couldn’t feel any evil intentions when he and the man looked at each other in the auction.

He helped the man up, and listened to his story.

The man was 34 now, and his name was Su Houde. He used to be a courier of a transportation company nearby, and is not married.

It all started when he had a dream during his childhood. He appeared in a magnificent hall, with an angry emperor, and ferocious imperial bodyguards carrying broadswords.

He received some prescriptions from an old master to stop his nightmare and drive out the evil spirits, but it didn’t work. Instead, as he grew older, his dreams increased and became more vivid. Finally, at the age of 30, he realized what this endless dream was, and who he really was.

“So…you’re the one that created this pair of jades?” Luo Qiu gazed at Su Houde in surprise. “The famous jade sculptor from Ming Dynasty?”

Su Houde forced a smile. “Unbelievable isn’t it? At first I didn’t accept it either. However, I can recall this pair of jade token, and all the other artifacts clearly!”

Su Houde touched the white jade in his hand, seemingly obsessed with it. “I remember each step of the process so clearly. How they looked liked originally, the polishing, the carving….”

Luo Qiu said in a low voice. “Since Mr. Su already understands that this was all from a past life, why do you still cling onto the jade token? Aren’t you afraid your relatives and family will suffer due to your reckless behaviour?”

“I don’t know…” Su Houde shook his head, and grimaced in pain, “I doubted myself and had hesitated before…in reality I have always been hesitating. Nevertheless, when I saw the jade at the auction site, I felt like I had been possessed and couldn’t control myself. I know I’m Su Houde, not that ancient person. Yet another voice told me, I cannot allow Sanniang to vanish before my eyes again. We’ve been separated for 500 years, who knows when will be the next time we can meet each other again.”

“Sanniang?”

Su Houde gave another bitter laugh, then followed by a deep sigh, “I used to be a famous engraver in the past life. That time, Emperor Xian Zong order for me to appear before him. He asked me to create a pair of white jade tokens and carve a lection of a Taoist scripture onto it. However, I couldn’t look at it directly, so the emperor had Sanniang read it for me.”

“Later I learned that Sanniang was not a common palace maid. Instead, she was a concubine of the emperor. Furthermore, Sanniang had ascended a mountain before to learn and practice Taoism there. The emperor wanted to live a long life and thus made a trip to the mountains to meet with her master. For some reason, the old master promised the emperor that he could bring Sanniang back to the imperial palace with him. Her public identity was the concubine of the emperor, but in fact, she was his adviser in Taoism.”

“This white jade in my previous life came from a special stone. Sanniang suggested the emperor to carve it into these jades, and carve the Koan Sutra on it. One would get double the results while practicing Taoism if one wore it while chanting and meditating.”

Suddenly, Su Houde voice turned heavy. “Sanniang was staying with me those days…She was supposed to be free from all worldly desires, but then she met me. However, those were the happiest days in my life. Unfortunately, once the jade tokens were done, Sanniang left me.”

“Even if we loved one another, there was no possibility for us to be together.” Su Houde sighed deeply. “Only when she sees our names which I secretly carved onto the jades could she find some little bit of comfort.”

As he said that, Su Houde revealed the jade in his hand. “There my signature inscribed on it. The one you are holding has Sanniang’s name, which will only reveal itself under strong light. I was considered best craftsman at that time…but I forgot that it would be sent to the emperor. It was actually very common for a craftsman to leave his signature on his works, but how could the emperor himself carry about an item that has another person’s name on it?”

“Finally, the emperor discovered both mine and Sanniang’s names on the jade. He was incensed.” Su Houde’s voice then turned hoarse. “The emperor wanted a long life, and he also loved Sanniang. He was determined to kill me, but Sanniang begged for my life to be spared instead. This made the emperor even more furious, so he found someone that cultivated in the arts of demons and asked it to seal Sanniang’s soul separately in both jades. Then he beheaded me outside the palace. My body and head were separated and sent to different places somewhere in the southeast direction.”

“I swore that I will never forgive the emperor even if I became a ghost! I’ll kill him myself and find my Sanniang.”

“However the emperor is now dead, and who knows where the jades were.”

“I have been looking for them, one lifetime after another.”

“I don’t even know how many times I have been reincarnated .”

“But I’ve finally obtained them at last!”

Su Houde’s facial expression changed. He grabbed Luo Qiu’s arms using both hands, and said diabolically, “Give the jade back to me! I’ll set Sanniang free! She has been sealed in the jades for 500 years! Do you know how miserable she feels!!”

Luo Qiu understood his anger and bitterness thus didn’t get angry.

But this behaviour infuriated You Ye.

She pushed him down to the ground causing the jade he was holding to roll away.

Su Houde staggered and attempted to retrieve the jade. Nevertheless, unexpectedly, the jade token rose and floated in the opposite direction, finally dropping in an old man’s hand.

And there was a young one standing behind the old man.

The old man said, “This… should be mine. Seems the book records were not wrong.”

“It’s you!”

Su Houde recognized the old man. He was the one that saved him in the meeting-place.

Luo Qiu recognized him too.

The old man’s face suddenly turned into dark red, shouting to Luo Qiu, “Give me yours too!”

Luo Qiu felt his body become heavy due to the pressure. He felt as if all the air in the surroundings was pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breath.

“How dare you hurt my master! You’re courting death!”

You Ye’s voice turned cold. Her eyes emitted a bluish light. Then without the assistance of the wind, her hair started floating.