Jackie and Uncle had severely underestimated Shendu's current power.
In truth, the moment Jackie pulled out the magic potion, Shendu had already sensed the aura of magic. He was, after all, one of the most formidable demon sorcerers in existence; any dark magic energy stood out in his perception like a candle in the dead of night.
Especially since this particular spell had been custom-built specifically to target him, if Shendu hadn't possessed such stellar patience, considering the sheer bad luck of Jackie touching all eleven other talismans in his frantic search, he would have happily hurled the Rat Talisman straight into Jackie's face.
Creeping around and probing inside his body like that... why, even a pig would have woken up by now.
Jackie took my Rat Talisman. What is he planning to do?
Shendu stroked his chin in thought, looking entirely unbothered. He was simply curious. They must have cooked up some scheme behind his back to deal with him, but that was precisely what puzzled Shendu. Even he himself couldn't conceive of any method that could possibly handle his current self.
After pondering for a brief moment, Shendu leaned back and closed his eyes. His soul traversed space, descending into the Netherworld to glance at the landscape before snapping right back into his physical vessel.
As the arch-nemesis most likely to impact him, Lü Dongbin's current state was "splendid," and that matter had nothing to do with him anyway.
With a slight shift of his consciousness, the corners of Shendu's mouth curved upward. He seemed to have guessed something, and a look of eager anticipation filled his eyes.
Meanwhile, down a dim corridor somewhere in the fortress, footsteps suddenly echoed.
This was the underground pathway leading to Shendu's private treasury, tended in rotation by his servants. As luck would have it, the servant on duty today happened to be a white-haired old man radiating an aura of absolute righteousness.
"Jackie, what took you so long!" Uncle stood guard at the entrance of the treasury, catching sight of Jackie emerging from the shadows.
"Uncle, I didn't want to, but my luck today seemed a bit terrible," Jackie complained, unable to help himself. He had practically had to grope all twelve talismans before finally extracting the power of the Rat Talisman at the very end.
Uncle frowned, his brows knitting together. "Shendu didn't notice, did he?"
"How could he?" Jackie patted his chest in reassurance. "I specifically used a foot-massage technique on him. He was sleeping like a log."
"I have no doubt that Dragon's massage techniques must be quite professional," a calm, teasing voice chimed in from nearby.
"Jade! What are you doing here?" Jackie jumped in alarm.
"Of course I have to be here. Uncle told me to come," Jade said, bouncing forward a couple of steps and peering curiously at the massive treasury doors.
"You should be doing your homework!" Jackie started, only to receive a swift rap on the head from Uncle.
"Uncle called Jade here. Shendu's treasury is sealed with a restraining spell, and his servants are barred from entry. Both you and I are repelled by the vault..."
"Only Jade is allowed. She isn't a servant," Uncle explained.
"This is too dangerous, Uncle," Jackie said, rubbing his aching head.
"Uncle is not a fool," Uncle retorted, taking Jackie's tool case, retrieving the Rat Talisman from inside, and handing it to Jade along with two vials of magic potion he fished out from his sleeve.
"Jade, this is our only chance. You must listen carefully." Uncle's expression suddenly turned dead serious.
"I'm listening, Uncle."
"Shendu's treasury recently collected a batch of very important artifacts. Among them is a statue. You need to use the Rat Talisman to awaken the statue, and then pour this vial of magic potion over it."
"Uncle, what does that statue look like?" Jade asked, her face brimming with eager anticipation.
"Long beard, wide robes. You'll spot it at a single glance," Uncle described as he uncapped one of the magic potions and dabbed it onto Jade.
"This spell will allow you to enter the vault, bypassing its alarm system. Go, and don't forget the other vial of potion!" Uncle instructed Jade point by point.
"Got it, Uncle!"
Jade answered, a green glow enveloping her body. She tested reaching her hand through the vault doors; the normally solid barrier lost its collision volume, allowing her to slip right through with effortless ease.
"Mission guaranteed! Consider this... some kind of extracurricular assignment?"
Jade's figure vanished inside the treasury.
"Just like dying embers holding a final spark, this is the only chance we have to grasp," Uncle's voice echoed down the underground corridor.
"Uncle, who do you learn these lines from? You didn't used to be this literary," Jackie muttered reflexively.
Another swift chop accompanied Jackie's yelp of pain as Uncle slowly replied, "Ancient scrolls, of course!"
"Also, where do you think you're going, Jackie?" Uncle asked in confusion, watching Jackie suddenly turn around as if preparing to bolt.
Halting in his tracks, still wearing his servant uniform and holding his toolbox, Jackie turned back with a look that was practically on the verge of tears.
"Uncle, Shendu's massage time is almost up."
Silence.
…
Inside Shendu's treasury.
Jade had successfully sneaked in completely unnoticed.
The first thing to greet her eyes was the blinding, golden splendor of the vault. Countless glittering treasures nearly blinded her eyes; gold was merely the most trivial among them, yet it was still piled high like mountains.
Jade paced across the sea of coins carpeting the floor, unable to help herself from marveling, "If Valmont were here, he'd definitely be thrilled."
"Wait, Valmont's already rich anyway."
She muttered to herself as her gaze swept across the vault.
"A statue, long beard, wide robes..."
Stepping past a towering mountain of gold, Jade suddenly felt her foot kick against something.
It was a mirror, reflecting the dazzling brilliance of the gold mountains with blinding intensity. She leaned her head in to take a look; the glass surface was flawlessly smooth.
The next second, three ugly figures suddenly materialized within the glass, startling her so badly that she scrambled back in a hurry. Giggling and chattering laughter echoed in her ears, carrying a rather eerie vibe. Jade shook her head fiercely and bolted away, leaving the mirror behind.
Uncle had said Shendu's vault housed treasures from nearly all over the world, some of which possessed genuine magical powers; she wasn't about to test her luck casually.
The place was frighteningly vast. It wasn't until she crested another hill of gold that Jade finally spotted what she was looking for.
A statue.
It matched Uncle's description to the letter, long beard, wide robes, wearing a towering scholar's cap on its head, looking every bit like a man from antiquity.
"Found you," Jade's eyes lit up.
"The rat that breathes life into stone." She pressed the Rat Talisman into the statue's body and hurriedly uncapped the potion, pouring the magical energy all over the figure.
With that done, she watched as the statue transitioned from lifeless object to awakening form, an arcane energy diffusing through the air.
"Just like a slumbering bear opening its eyes, hibernation time is over," the statue spoke.
"Whoa, the statue talks!" Jade said excitedly. "My name is Jade. Who are you? I'm the one who woke you up."
The awakened statue glanced down at Jade and spoke slowly: "Perhaps you have heard of my name, child."
"What name?" Jade asked, full of expectation.
"The Sacred Warrior, Lo Pei."
————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]