This wooden box had no lock, but was secured by a cleverly crafted wooden mechanism. Almost no modern carpenter knows how to make such things anymore, since there are all sorts of modern tools and adhesives, so this skill has gradually been lost. In the past, a skilled carpenter could make a piece of furniture without using a single nail.

William Carter opened the box and was instantly stunned—inside was yet another box. However, this one looked much more valuable, made from a material resembling amber. Under the light, the box shimmered with iridescent colors, as if clouds were drifting through a transparent lake. William Carter was so mesmerized that he lost himself for a moment. When he snapped out of it, he noticed that writing was gradually appearing on the surface of the box, as if ink was suddenly spreading across water.

But he couldn’t recognize the characters. The only thing he could be sure of was that it was definitely Chinese. The square characters flowed like running water, clearly belonging to some ancient calligraphic style. William Carter wasn’t exactly ignorant, but this was as much as he could figure out. After all, he wasn’t so miraculous as to be a young man who knew everything about the past and present.

“Sigh, if only I could understand it…” he muttered to himself. At that moment, the writing on the amber box suddenly became blurry, rippling like water, and then the ink marks gradually gathered again—this time, they turned into simplified Chinese!

William Carter’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. By now, he was pretty much convinced that this was some kind of high-tech artifact from an ancient Chinese super-civilization.

“There are seven of these in the world, given to those with fate. Study it, and if you can master even one of my skills, would I not be delighted?”

This sentence was truly baffling. It was as if the author was saying, “I’ve left seven boxes scattered around the world. Whoever finds one gets to keep it. Learn the skills inside, and if you succeed, I’ll be happy.” From the sound of it, the contents of this box were just one of his many areas of expertise, and as long as someone was lucky enough to master even this one, he’d already be pleased. William Carter didn’t know whether to laugh or cry—this ancient person seemed not only arrogant but also a bit crazy.

Then, glancing at the lower left corner of the writing, he wanted to see who this mysterious figure was. When his eyes moved to the signature, he saw two characters that nearly made him spit blood: William Carter.

“Great, just great, you’ve really got guts… Where’s the cameraman? This is a TV prank show, right? Director! Hey, anyone, someone come out and answer me!”

Of course, no one paid him any attention. So he gave up complaining and trying to convince himself, and proceeded to open the amber box. Inside was a scroll of bamboo slips, wrapped in a piece of tattered sheepskin. On the sheepskin was written “伏魔篇,” though of course William Carter couldn’t read these three characters. After the bamboo scroll was removed, the amber box instantly turned to dust. But by now, William Carter was no longer surprised by anything. He picked up the bamboo scroll and flipped through it, nodding as he looked, a smile gradually appearing on his face.

“MLGBD, I can’t understand a single word… What the hell…”

At this point, he was overcome by drowsiness. With all the strange things that had happened in recent days and no clues at all, he simply decided not to think about it anymore. He took a shower and went straight to bed. By then, it was already 4:30 in the morning, and he slept straight through until the afternoon. When he opened his eyes and checked his phone, it was already 3:00 p.m. As usual, William Carter washed up, ate a bowl of instant noodles, and prepared to continue his usual homebody routine for the day. Since he’d already dug out the source of the strange noises, the problem should be solved. As for that thief who left a business card yesterday, since he’d already run into him once, the guy probably wouldn’t dare come back. That’s how he rationalized it, a classic homebody mindset—which usually leads to things getting worse.

At 4:00 p.m., the sky was overcast and the north wind howled. William Carter was online, reading about the life of Guiguzi. Even someone who’s been online for years might never have searched their own name. In fact, you might stumble upon something unexpected—like how William Carter discovered he actually shared the same name as Guiguzi.

Guiguzi, surname Wang, given name Xu, was a native of the State of Wei during the Warring States period. He was born and eventually retired in Guigu Mountain, hence the title “Guiguzi.” He once served as Prime Minister of Chu. This man truly possessed world-shaking talent: military strategy, martial arts, divination, weapon invention, astronomy, geography—there was nothing in daily life, food, clothing, shelter, or medicine that he didn’t know. Even if there was something he didn’t know, he’d at least be at the “somewhat familiar” level, which was already quite miraculous.

Guiguzi not only had the strategic wisdom of a statesman, but also excelled at the diplomatic arts of persuasion and alliance. He inherited the mantle of the Yin-Yang school and was renowned as a master of prophecy. That’s why people called Guiguzi a genius and a polymath.

Moreover, he wasn’t picky about accepting disciples—anyone could become one, though not everyone could master his teachings. Besides, those who learned from him only ever mastered a part of his knowledge, never the whole. Among his disciples were Sun Bin, Pang Juan, Su Qin, Zhang Yi, Mao Sui, Xu Fu, Gan Mao, Yue Yi, Zou Ji, Li Si, and others. After Li Kui’s death, Shang Yang also studied under Guiguzi. Some of these disciples studied military strategy and divination, some learned martial and mystical arts, and others studied the arts of diplomacy. Truly, mastering even one of his disciplines was enough to make one a force to be reckoned with!