The Soothsayer was still staring but in a shrewd way. Wei Ying found it unnerving.

"Onyx is a finitely complex mineral." He said quietly. "Not only can it absorb negative energy, it is a protective conduit. The more negative energy it stores, the darker it becomes. This blade," he picked it up, "is darker than the darkest of nights. Therefore, it is stronger than ever."

Wei Ying was still pacing, even more aggravated.

"Do you believe in old wives' tales, Young Master?"

"It depends. If something can be explained by sight and my own wits, I would rather trust myself than rumours and myths." He replied, distractedly.

"Precisely. I agree with you, wholeheartedly. But," he continued with a twinkle in his eyes, "when some things cannot be explained by wits, or common sense, or whatever our five senses tell us, we are then given an opportunity to believe a different possibility." He laughed. "Youth makes fools of all of us, but in this case, it might be better to keep an open mind."

He bent his fingers into a steeple shape. "Old people have more experience, wisdom, if you will, of things our young lives have not seen. One such myth, as you say, is that onyx is a strength giving stone for dark nights and lonely places. I wonder what that means."

Wei Ying got the distinct impression that he was trying to tell him something in a not obvious way.

"They say it holds the gift of wise decisions, renders the wearer, Master of his destiny, strengthens your confidence, can reveal messages from the dead and remove spirit possession. But more importantly, in your case, onyx can hold memories of its owner."

"So you think we should make it tell us? Find these memories?" He shuddered, remembering his vision. "The knife has only committed violence. I have no wish to see more of that."

"Memories of the owner might hold a clue to whatever you have to do."

Wei Ying paused, looking at Lan Zhan.

"This may be your only opportunity to see." He replied, taking hold of his hand.

Wei Ying nodded slowly. "However much I don't want to do this, it makes sense." He turned to the sitting man. "Show me."

The soothsayer brought out an old mortar and pestle, took some sage leaves, more lemongrass and camphor. He beat them into a thick paste and lit it on fire. As the smoke wafted upwards, Wei Ying felt his eyes become heavier and heavier until he was powerless to fight back.

He saw the town they had just left, Hui Wu, and the blacksmith's house. In the furnace room, he was piercing the skin on the forearm of a man. Wei Ying recognised the dragon tattoo. The ink was a strange mix of dye and blood. The blacksmith suddenly looked straight at him, and Wei Ying involuntarily took a few steps back.

He smiled, but it looked like a grimace before bending over his work again.

The scene changed and the man, complete with tattoo, was walking into the mountains. He heard the cries of babies and went to look. Inside a natural cave, two babies were bundled together in a blanket, both horned and scaled. He bent and picked them up, continuing upwards. Outside the mouth of the mine, he met the blacksmith, who was holding a large piece of onyx. The babies were handed over.

In the next scene, the babies are crying differently, distressed and afraid. Wei Ying watched the man cut their palms and draw the blood over the knives, one for each. He chanted in a strange dialect that saw the transfer of the babies to change, to become airborne, and enter their vessels as spirits.

Wei Ying was beginning to understand the process, and how to unravel the curse, but it was just a theory for now.

When the scenes began showing him the rituals, the actual killing of dragons, he subconsciously pushed away from the table.

Lan Zhan grabbed him and shook him awake. He blinked once and hugged him, grateful for the support.

There was so much to think about, every thought on a sugar rush inside his mind, too fast to process. He took a deep breath of sandalwood air and stepped back reluctantly.

"Can he hear me if I spoke to him?" Wei Ying looked at the knife and then the soothsayer.

"Probably."

"Do you think it's a good idea to keep it close, on my body?" Wei Ying struggled to make the words come out.

"Demons know more about the world we cannot see, than we do. And it did not seem as if he had malicious intentions towards you."

"True."

"Would you like me to do a reading for you?"

Wei Ying stiffened. Lan Zhan rubbed his back, warm circles soothing.

He didn't want to say yes. But he found himself quietly sitting down in front of him, palms out and open.

The soothsayer held his hands, silently gazing intently. He waited for a while before politely folding his fingers closed and giving his hands a slight push.

Wei Ying got the feeling that he was deciding what to say, or rather, how to say it.

"The path before you may be rewarding, but it involves a sacrifice on your part. I see you having to give something up or parting with something dear to you. And something fierce, perhaps even dangerous, is coming for you. How you set actions in motion is pivotal to a good outcome, one that sees justice for the helpless." He leaned back. "That's all."

"What do you mean, dangerous?" Lan Zhan's grip on Bichen tightened, his knuckles white and straining.

"Just that, something will happen. It's not clear."

"Make it clear." His voice brooked no argument.

"Alas, I cannot. The future is not set in stone."

Lan Zhan, in his growing frustration, banged Bichen on the table, shattering it. He walked out without looking back.

Wei Ying handed the soothsayer a piece of gold, mumbled an apology and hurriedly left.