This guy really woke up just in time!
Cao Yi glanced back at Big Gold Tooth and asked, "Have you ever participated in the jadeite auction?"
Big Gold Tooth immediately showed a sheepish expression. As a low-tier antiques dealer, he wouldn't have the qualifications to attend such a grand event.
Cao Yi, having already inferred the answer from Big Gold Tooth's expression, decided not to press further.
After six or seven minutes, the taxi arrived at the Yangon's International Hotel under the night sky. It wasn't as bad as he had imagined, but it wasn't great either. Of course, one couldn't be too demanding; it was the late 1980s, and Myanmar had only recently been labeled one of the world's "least developed countries" by the UN.
"Old Jin, cash?" Cao Yi turned to Big Gold Tooth. Though he had over a hundred thousand dollars, it was all in the bank. There were no mobile payment options like Alipay or WeChat back then.
"Sure," Big Gold Tooth rummaged through his pocket, finding only fifty-dollar bills.
This wasn't because he was wealthy; he had received a deposit from Global Mining Corporation and had kept the cash for a sense of security, not expecting to end up in a predicament today.
"Forget it, give it to me," Cao Yi waved his hand.
"He probably can't make change for that," Big Gold Tooth grumbled as he handed over the cash.
Even though the U.S. dollar was hard currency in Myanmar, the kyat was so devalued that a taxi driver wouldn't have enough change for fifty dollars.
Cao Yi squeezed the bills, feeling their value, and handed the fifty dollars to the driver, saying, "During the jadeite auction, you'll be our driver. I'll give you seventy dollars as a deposit. Of course, you can also take this fifty and not come tomorrow."
The driver, Xiao Zhuang, trembled as he accepted the fifty-dollar bill, excitement evident on his face. "Don't worry, I'll definitely be here on time tomorrow."
Cao Yi smiled, stepped out of the car, and said, "Let's go."
"Kaige, we've arrived!" Big Gold Tooth nudged the still-sleeping Wang Kaixuan.
Wang Kaixuan rubbed his eyes, looking groggy as he opened the door and stepped out. "Wow, this hotel is nice, with so many plants and flowers. It looks like a park!"
"It's nothing special; even Brooklyn is better!" Wang Kaixuan scoffed.
"Of course, it can't compare to the U.S.," Big Gold Tooth chuckled awkwardly.
"Enough chatter, let's go in, take a shower, and rest up. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the jadeite auction," Cao Yi urged as he walked ahead.
As they walked a short distance, Xiao Zhuang caught up. "Do you need anything else?"
Cao Yi raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
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"I can show you around," Xiao Zhuang said with a big grin.
Cao Yi immediately realized that the kid wanted to make another quick buck.
Entering the hotel lobby, as expected, there were no extravagant chandeliers or large carpets; everything appeared quite simple.
The front desk clerk was a rare white-skinned Burmese girl. Xiao Zhuang greeted her, indicating that he brought the guests, and then he left.
"Book three deluxe rooms," Cao Yi said, placing his bank card and passport on the counter.
Wang Kaixuan and Big Gold Tooth followed suit, showing their Chinese passports. They had been undocumented immigrants in the U.S., which was why Wang Kaixuan had been chased like a rabbit by immigration officials.
"Sorry, but due to the jadeite auction, we only have luxury rooms available," the front desk girl spoke fluent Chinese.
"Fine," Cao Yi replied casually.
The hotel's luxury and deluxe rooms seemed about the same in quality.
The front desk girl was very efficient, and soon they had their room keys and were headed upstairs.
Rooms 501, 502, and 503 were adjacent to each other. Cao Yi stayed in room 501, and like he expected, the so-called luxury room was underwhelming. However, it had the basic amenities: a washing machine, air conditioning, a color TV, and a shower.
After taking a shower and changing into a bathrobe, Cao Yi put his Daoist robe in the washing machine. He then retrieved the purple-gold gourd and returned to the bedroom.
"Release Ye Lvzhi Gu," he commanded, removing the lid.
A cloud of white mist spewed out, and a figure clad in black armor appeared several meters away, exuding a cold aura. A yellow talisman was affixed to the pale forehead of the statue-like Ye Lvzhi Gu.
Cao Yi had no doubt that once he removed the yellow talisman, this thousand-year-old corpse would unleash a bloodbath here.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Who could it be at this hour?
Cao Yi stepped out of the bedroom and opened the door to find a server pushing a dining cart.
"Sir, this is your dinner," the server said softly.
Cao Yi stepped aside to let her in. After she set up the meal and bowed, she left.
"Hardware may be lacking, but the service is decent," Cao Yi remarked as he enjoyed his dinner.
After finishing his meal, he decided to try making his first communication talisman.
In his canvas bag, he had half a bottle of ink, a brush, an inkstone, some yellow paper, and a few pieces of jade.
After a few minutes of preparation, he was ready. He picked up the brush and began to draw the talisman.
He drew three dots, mentally reciting "Yuqing Order, Shangqing Order, Taiqing Order."
He drew three arcs, symbolizing the three Clear energies. Despite the brush running out of ink, the intention was still strong; the energy of the three Clears descended into the talisman.
Then he chanted, "The ancestor of calamity, the source of all gods, the root of heaven and earth, endless transformations."
Next, he drew a circle, muttering, "Chaos is limitless, birthing heaven and earth, all beginnings and endings, releasing the force."
...
Three minutes later, the first talisman failed.
Five minutes later, the second talisman failed.
For the next hour, he failed eighteen times before succeeding once.
Looking at the completed communication talisman, Cao Yi secretly rejoiced at his arrival in Myanmar.
After resting for a while, he took the talisman and walked over to Ye Lvzhi Gu. He pressed the talisman over the corpse-stopping talisman and closed his eyes, quietly waiting.
During this process, the communication talisman acted like a bridge, channeling Cao Yi's energy into Ye Lvzhi Gu and vice versa.
According to the methods of corpse refinement, to command a zombie, one must share a similar energy.
The sensation of Yin energy entering his body was unpleasant, and soon a layer of white frost formed on Cao Yi's eyebrows, resembling white brows at first glance.
One minute, two minutes... one hour passed.
Cao Yi and Ye Lvzhi Gu's eyes opened simultaneously.
"Right hand," Cao Yi commanded, raising his own right hand.
After a three-second pause, Ye Lvzhi Gu slowly lifted its right hand.
"Left leg," he instructed.
This time, there was no response from Ye Lvzhi Gu.
Cao Yi furrowed his brow and changed it to "Right hand."
As before, after three seconds, Ye Lvzhi Gu raised its right hand.
"Very good, lower it," Cao Yi ordered.
After just one second, Ye Lvzhi Gu dropped both hands.
"First step of the long march, exhale," Cao Yi breathed out a cold mist, and in that moment, everything went black as he fainted.